Cursed Eyes
by Narutoenthusiast
Summary: Some say that being in the wrong place at the wrong time can get you killed. Well, young Naruto will learn this the hard way, as he tried to find food near the Uchiha Clan Compound, only to find something else instead. A different twist to the Uchiha Massacre and Naruto receives a gift he never asked for in the first place. NarutoxOC and KakashixOC.
1. The Fall of a Clan

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****Cursed Eyes (Adventure/General)**

_**No pairings yet**_

**Summary**: Some say that being at the wrong place at the wrong time can get you killed. Well, young Naruto will learn this the hard way. A different twist to the Uchiha Massacre and Naruto gets a gift he never carved for.

**Chapter 1 – The fall of a clan**

**Beta: Dreetje**

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Uchiha Itachi. First son of Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto. Immensely skilled from the very beginning of his shinobi career, he proved time and time again that he deserved the title of a prodigy. Graduating at the academy at age seven, a feat that no one ever managed; since he only took a year to become a genin and it didn't take him long to pass the chunnin exams at the age of ten. By the time he was thirteen, with an already completely evolved sharingan, his family's famous doujutsu, he was already enrolled in the most prestigious and honored ninja organization in Konoha called Anbu.

He was revered by everyone, both because of his lineage and his skills. Men would dream of surpassing him and women dreamed of marrying him (Fan girls). He was pretty much the center of attention, which was pretty hard, considering that Konoha had already some famous shinobi like Sharingan no Kakashi and one of the Daimyou's Twelve Guardians and first son of the Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Asuma. However, in the midst of all these qualifications, the one man who could've made a difference in Itachi's life was his father Fugaku. Because of his position as the first born son, Itachi's father always pressured him for better results than his second son Sasuke. Strict and never once displaying any hint of emotion that would make a son happy, Fugaku did, instead, create a weapon capable of pretty much everything that was chakra oriented.

Now at the age of seventeen, Itachi now had a team of Anbu under his charge and one of the most capable captains since Hatake Kakashi, son of the White Fang Hatake Sakumo. So, one could say that he was pretty happy with the ways things were going.

_Wrong!_

For those who knew him or rather thought they did, like his father, mother and little brother Uchiha Sasuke, ever since he joined Anbu, Itachi grew cold and distant, often times, accusing the Uchiha Clan of not using their gifts to their fullest capacity, which infuriated his father Fugaku greatly.

It was already midnight the rain was pounding heavily in Konoha and Itachi's Anbu team was in charge of scouting the village for any suspicious activity going on. Standing on top of a rather small tree was a lone Anbu member wearing a weasel mask while looking at the area below. Because it was night, one could only see his body outline, but if one were to look closely, he or she would be able to envision the famous sharingan eye in all its glory. Bloody red and with three black tomes would send shivers even to the most ruthless of individuals with the promise of a quick death, courtesy of the famous Uchiha Clan.

Suddenly, his eyes caught the usage of chakra running through the rooftops and the Anbu captain was positive that whoever it was didn't belong to his team and the fact that everyone was sleeping this time at night, so it could only be a rogue ninja. Immediately positioning two fingers on the side of his mask, he signaled the intruder's position to his team, before he left his position to follow the perpetrator.

It didn't take long before the Uchiha appeared in front of the man who in turn stopped immediately upon seeing resistance to his plan. Itachi could very well see the Iwa headband and the fact that it had a horizontal slash to it, meaning he was in fact a missing-nin. So speaking with a monotone voice, Itachi addressed the man.

"You have no business in here Iwa-nin and on top of that, you just committed a serious offense by invading the Hidden Village in the Leaves. A very stupid mistake which will be dealt with immediately, prepare to die" – Said Itachi, while with his arms crossed not doing anything, but what the enemy didn't know was that the Uchiha already trapped him inside a genjutsu.

"Go to hell all of you leaf scum, I will kill at least one shinobi from the Leaf because of what your Yondaime Hokage did for my village. Because of him, my family was killed and my mother sacrificed herself to save me, prepare Anbu for your death!!!!" – Shouted the missing-nin, but before he could thrust his kunai on Itachi's torso, the man suddenly flinched in agony as it appeared that a hidden enemy was lurking in the shadows.

However, he realized too late that he was looking directly at Itachi's eyes, a move that proved to be one fatal mistake. Itachi's genjutsu was meant to disrupt the man's senses and overload his brain until it proved to be fatal. When Itachi's team arrived at the scene, the man was already unconscious lying on the Uchiha's feet. Turning to his second in command, an Anbu with long purple hair and a cat mask, he ordered his team to take the man to Ibiki and then return to their first assigned mission, before vanishing within a great number of crows.

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**===the next day===**

Due to the sunlight in his eyes, Itachi woke up and immediately set out to do his morning routine which composed of a few stretches followed by heavy and very advanced taijutsu without the use of the sharingan, of course. Itachi firmly believed that the sharingan, while a handy tool in battle, could blind its user from over-depending on the doujutsu to fight his battles.

Afterwards, he went inside the compound for some light breakfast, before wearing his boots once more to train some accuracy in a secluded place that only he knew.

However just as he was about to get up and leave, he heard someone screaming while running straight at him, before Itachi poked the infant's forehead with his fingers, thus stopping little Sasuke's movements.

"Niisan, you know I hate it when you do this. Hey, do you want to play ninja with me?" – Asked Sasuke with a broad smile on his face as expected from any child his age. Itachi, despite his stoic demeanor, just couldn't say no to his little brother. Sasuke was like him, he enjoyed training and wouldn't give up until he learned it correctly, a posture not at all followed by the rest of the clan who preferred to train only until their sharingan awakens.

"Sasuke, I'm not interested in playing ninja with you" – Said Itachi, before he saw the dejected face of his brother, carving for his brother's attention. "However, you could accompany me and see me training, instead" – Stated Itachi, this time seeing Sasuke's smile once more.

It didn't take long until the Uchiha brothers were in a secluded vegetation sight filled with the trees and rocks. Sasuke was looking around and noticed a few targets displayed in multiple directions and he presumed that Itachi would hit them one by one, however when the little one saw his brother holding eight kunais in his both hands at the same time, Sasuke was skeptical even if this was his brother he was talking about.

Suddenly, Itachi vanished from his place in the middle of the field, before appearing up in the air and flipping his body for a free head fall. While falling, he calculated the exact moment needed and threw six of the kunais towards the targets, but only four were aimed for the bulls- eye. Afterwards, he flipped his body once more and used the remaining two projectiles and threw them towards the two that weren't heading for the target, thus fixing their trajectory and the same time, aiming towards the last two targets. When he hit the ground, Sasuke couldn't say a word as he saw the eight targets all with a kunai in the middle at the same time.

"Niisan, that was amazing, can you teach me how to do it?" – Shouted Sasuke and Itachi could very well see that the boy was eager to learn it, even though it was considered an advanced move to perform. So, he gave a few pointers and told Sasuke to practice.

Eager, Sasuke tried and tried harder, but much to his dismay, he just couldn't do it. He has been trying for a whole hour and only the most obvious targets were hit, leaving out the hidden ones. However, while Itachi could do it for a longer period of time, Sasuke didn't have enough chakra to sustain that long, hence why the big brother had to carry the little one on his back the way home.

Eventually, Sasuke managed to wake up and noticed where he was and who was carrying him.

"I…I'm sorry Niisan. I don't have as much chakra as you do" – Said Sasuke with a dejected face.

"That's only obvious Sasuke-otouto; your chakra pathways are only beginning its development. Not to mention that I have more experience than you in being a shinobi. You couldn't afford to be better than me where not even the academy you graduated yet" – Explained Itachi, earning a temper from his little brother.

"Yeah…well not everyone graduates after only a year, you know; but I will surpass you, mark my words Niisan" – Stated Sasuke, earning a nod from Itachi.

"It's greatly beneficial to think like that otouto. It wouldn't anyone any good if surpassing the older generation wasn't one of their goals. Growing up, surpassing father was a goal of mine, you know" – Said Itachi while Sasuke was listening to every bit of the older brother's reason. "It will come a time Sasuke when we'll fight against each other and it's my wish that you surpass me in every way" – Said Itachi, until they arrived at the compound.

After getting Sasuke to bed, Itachi was now walking towards his room until his father called out to him for a conversation. Just seeing his old man, Itachi couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Fugaku had the skills and no doubt could become way stronger than he is right now, but just like all Uchiha, the man was focused exclusively on his sharingan and nothing and no one convinced him otherwise.

Itachi kneeled on the tatame and eyed his father for a while, before the man initiated the conversation.

"Itachi, I know you have your duties as an Anbu captain, but this exact time tomorrow, the Uchiha Clan will gather for a reunion and I expect you to be here on schedule, am I clear?" – Asked Fugaku, to which Itachi nodded, before getting up and leaving, not even bothering to greet his person he had to call father, which infuriated the man.

"How dare you just leave and turn your back on me, I'm your father and as such, I demand your respect" – Shouted Fugaku, but much to his dismay, Itachi didn't flinch nor did he turn to look at his father in the eyes.

"For all I know, this conversation was over the moment I offered my consent to the Uchiha reunion. There is no reason for me to remain here. So, if you excuse me, I'll be in my room for the duration of the day" – Said Itachi, before walking outside the room and closing the door, without even waiting for a reply which pissed Fugaku even more.

Once Itachi started walking, he saw Sasuke practicing the first katas of the family's taijutsu and smiled seeing that even if Sasuke passed out first from chakra exhaustion, he was now training once more with the intent of surpassing his older brother.

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**===Two days later===**

No sooner the sunlight appeared, members of the Uchiha Police Corps knocked on the door demanding to see Itachi. Uchiha Inabi, Uchiha Tekka and Uchiha Yashiro found, this morning, the body of Uchiha Shisui at the river near the Uchiha propriety and next to his body, a note was found as well, apparently being a suicide note.

Suddenly, Itachi appeared outside the house while facing the three Uchihas.

"What's the meaning of this outburst?" – Asked Itachi as he stoically eyed his sharingan peers. Uchiha Inabi, black long hair and wearing a gray outfit, narrowed his eyes.

"Oi Itachi, we would like to know why you didn't attend to the Uchiha clan meeting yesterday?" – Asked Inabi, but as usual he saw no reaction whatsoever from the elder Uchiha. "I understand that, as Anbu, you have to be involved in many troublesome tasks. Your father says so and somehow covers for you, but we do not play favorites here"

"I understand, I'll be careful from now on" – Said Itachi with his eyes closed, thus dismissing the manners of the reunion incident, but the interrogatory didn't end with the reunion.

"There is another manner that needs to be discussed. This morning, we found the body of Uchiha Shisui dead at the river and we also noticed he wasn't present at the meeting either. Now, I know that you and Shisui are quite close Itachi" – Stated Yashiro, gray hair, looking like his eyes were closed.

Itachi just nodded and looked down in memory to his old friend/older brother.

"I haven't seen him in a while, its unfortunate" – Was all he said, but something about it didn't bode well with the Uchiha detectives.

"So we of the police force, devoted our time to solving this manner" – Said Inabi to which Itachi narrowed his sight.

Yashiro, then, grabbed a note from within his holster and gave it to Itachi.

"We checked the note and Shisui's hand writing indeed matches, however we know that anyone with a sharingan could mimic it, making it look like he committed suicide" – Explained Yashiro, while Itachi was reading the suicidal letter.

"Uchiha Shisui was one of our clan's elite and feared throughout the elemental nations as** Shunshin no Shisui. **It's hard to think that such a man would kill himself" – Said Tekka, before they saw Itachi activate his sharingan while crumbling Shisui's note.

"Why don't you say it already? You're accusing me of killing Shisui" – Snarled Itachi, before he charged the three detectives, before pounding their faces with force, sending them to the ground, before getting up.

"You shouldn't judge people based on appearances alone. You don't know what really happened and even so, here you are accusing me of murdering Uchiha Shisui" – Said Itachi, before he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Itachi…stop right now. Ever since you joined Anbu, you've been acting strange lately" – Said Fugaku, before he saw his son standing and then kneeling down in apparent shame for what he did

"I didn't kill Shisui, but what I did was improper and for that I apologize" – Said Itachi, before getting up once more and went back to his house, since he was ordered to present at Anbu in half an hour.

Fugaku eyed his son with suspicion. He once thought that Itachi joining the Anbu division would bring glory to the clan, but instead it changed his son in a negative manner, he thought.

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**===the day of the Massacre===**

Sasuke Uchiha was going home after a nice day at the academy. His class learned the first steps of shuriken throwing and Sasuke got the highest score of the class. Another thought that made him happy was that the conversation he had with his father and that his Tou-san didn't hate Itachi, even after Itachi did a number on the Uchiha Detectives from accusing him of killing one of the clan.

It was already late at night and he thought his mother would reprimand him from being out in the streets this late. However, the minute he stepped inside the Uchiha Compound, he froze. He didn't know what this feeling was, but all he knew is that it made his instincts shout at him to turn and run away. Suddenly, he looked up to a lightning post to where he thought that someone was there watching him, but no one was there.

As he walked inside the compound, he noticed the light was off, but it couldn't be bed time, since the sun just barely set. However, by making a turn into a corner, his vision paled. Looking around, all he saw were bodies sprawled on the floor, kunais lodged on the walls and lots and lots of blood all over the place. He was already too scared to even make another step, but now a new thought entered his mind, before he screamed his mother's name and ran towards his house.

The minute he grabbed the doorknob, the feeling of dread returned full speed and he was already hyperventilating from fear. He looked around but saw nothing, until he saw his parent's room which happened to be the last place he needed to search. The problem, though, was that he just couldn't open it, fearing that his mother and father shared the same fate as those on the street. Sasuke was a child; he couldn't help but shake in fear at the situation. He, then, sucked in and opened the door with a thud only for immediate tears to soon fall from his eyes.

There they were, his mother and father on the floor covered by their own blood. Itachi was there as well with his Anbu uniform as he looked at Sasuke.

"Niisan, what happened…!" – Said Sasuke, but was interrupted when a flying shuriken just passed from him before being lodged at the door, but immediately afterwards, Sasuke's sleeve was cut as well as his skin, before he used his hands to stop it from hurting.

"Niisan, what happened, what are you doing? Who did this?" – Shouted Sasuke, too afraid to link the dots of the fact that it was the very person he was asking that committed the heavy sin.

"Foolish little brother" – Said Itachi, before he saw Sasuke just drown himself in tears as he finally learned what happened.

"Why Niisan, why did you this? Why?" – Shouted Sasuke.

"To test my capacity, otouto; you want to know how it happened, don't you? I'll grant your request…Mangenkyou Sharingan!" – Said Itachi, until his three tomoe transformed into a full-fledge black shuriken, before the technique hit Sasuke dead on. Right before his eyes, a full horde of shurikens flew through the Uchiha Estate killing everyone and those who managed to deflect the projectiles, tried attacking Itachi only for the genius Uchiha to wipe them out with his ninja-to.

Sasuke couldn't take it anymore, the screams, the sound of shurikens being imbedded on the bodies, the sound of his father and mother screaming for Itachi to stop this madness and then hearing the screams of his mother of agony after receiving a direct attack from Itachi's sword it was too much for a child's mind to bear. He screamed and screamed like there was no tomorrow and just ran away scared that his brother would finish him too.

However, the torture wasn't over and when Sasuke appeared outside, Itachi was there as well and used the technique once more, thus forcing Sasuke to relive everything over and over again.

The reason why genjutsu was so feared was that the attack couldn't be seen or heard or at least felt it before it already happened and it could very well destroy the opponent's senses and organs by disrupting the inner chakra. So, after replaying such a gruesome sight over and over again it proved to be too much to the young Uchiha who suddenly stopped crying…stopped holding his head to ease the pain and just fell limp on the ground.

After dispelling the technique, a thunder suddenly illuminated the area like it was Kami's way of punishing Itachi for the sin he just committed. Killing his family in cold blood was cruel, yes, but doing what he did to Sasuke was truly a work of a monster, a psychopath who didn't know the word remorse.

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**===With Naruto===**

A few minutes before the massacre, Uzumaki Naruto walked out of the apartment the Sandaime Hokage so kindly rented for him to use; after he was kicked out of the orphanage for god knows what. The Hokage even gave Naruto some money for the essentials, food and some water. However, without any known reason, when Naruto tried to purchase anything, he was either kicked out of the shop or they refused to sell him anything in a secret hope that the demon kid as he was known throughout the streets for, to die from thrust or hunger.

Now, because of this all he was left with were searching through garbage cans to see if he could find any leftovers. Not knowing what was happening at the Uchiha clan compound, Naruto found a large stock of garbage cans right in front of the compound entrance, but sadly for him, the garbage was empty and his stomach was voicing his discomfort for the lack of food.

He was cursing the rich red-eyed people for not supplying him with at least a piece of bread, until he heard something that shocked his entire system. A pitched scream, but it wasn't just a scream. Naruto could sense that the person was suffering enormous pain and looked up only to see two shades one standing and one kneeling on the ground holding his head and Naruto could see that it was the person keeling on the ground that was screaming.

Suddenly, though, the person stopped and just fell on the floor like nothing happened. Wanting to help the boy, Naruto ran with all his might to help, however before he made another step inside the compound, he saw a bright light coming towards him. The light proved to be a small fire that hit Naruto dead on his face, which earned a loud shout of pain coming from the blond.

Cursing this boy's intrusion and obviously loud scream, Itachi figured that the entire Anbu force would find out what happened, meaning he had to escape right away. And so he did, not even bothering to see what his attack did on Naruto. As to Naruto, the pain was so unbearable that the kid passed out on the floor.

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**===At the hospital===**

Sandaime Hokage was having a normal day. People were coming in and out of his office with papers to sign; the normal schedule of a kage. However, when the news hit him of what happened in the Uchiha compound, his heart immediately sank and he couldn't believe Itachi did kill his whole clan. He was now looking at the window from the door that both Naruto and Sasuke were being treated, until the doctor appeared for the report.

"Hokage-sama, may I speak to you?" – Asked the head doctor, earning a nod from the old man, before the doctor continued. "Sir, we've been able to heal Uzumaki Naruto's wounds and I'm happy to report that his face wasn't damaged even though he received a small fireball directly" – Said the doctor, but the smile on the Hokage's face proved to be too much for the physician to handle right now as he continued with his report.

"Nevertheless, Hokage-sama, while his face wasn't damaged, little Naruto's eyes took all the damage. The fire burned his retina and eye sockets. Sir, I'm afraid that little Naruto won't be able to use his eyes ever again" – Reported the physician, before he saw the old man's eyes wide in shock, just before tears started to fell.

"Isn't there anything you can do, Takashi-san. You can't heal his eyes?" – Asked the Hokage, but looked down once the man nodded his head in the negative.

"We could do one thing, although I need your permission for it" – Asked Takashi, before he saw the Hokage lift his head in surprise. "I was about to say it after Naruto's report but we checked for any form of reflex coming from Uchiha Sasuke, but sadly we couldn't find one. You see when the person is unconscious, his body parts would still move on occasion. So, upon checking his body for further injures, we managed to see some heavy damage to the brain cells as it's obvious that Sasuke suffered from some serious mental trauma that led to brain death" – Explained Takashi.

"What did Itachi do to him? He couldn't possibly use a genjutsu on a six year old, it's just non-human, but why are you telling me about this? What's on your mind Takashi?" – Asked the Hokage.

"Sir, there is a way to salvage Naruto's sight, but that will only happen if we find another pair of eyes that we could replace his damaged ones with. Being that said, I believe that the best option would be to transplant Sasuke's eyes to replace Naruto's. Giving the case, it's the only option we have" – Said Takashi, before he studied Sarutobi's facial expressions.

Hiruzen for his part began to think about what the head doctor was offering. In one hand, Naruto would be able to see once more and thus he could pursue his dream of becoming a shinobi in the future, but on the other hand, Sasuke's eyes carried the sharingan doujutsu and thus by giving it to Naruto, the doujutsu will be passed on to the blond. Sarutobi wasn't ignorant to the effects the kaleidoscope eye did to the user and he feared that Naruto will become too power-hungry just like many Uchihas in the past.

However, it wouldn't be the first time one shinobi receives a sharingan transplant and the one who received it, managed to control its urges without any trouble. He had no choice, though, as this is Naruto's only chance of seeing once more.

"Takashi-san, you have my consent for the operation, please proceed and let me know if something happens" – Said Sarutobi, before he turned and left towards his house to get some rest, cause from tomorrow forward, Konoha will surely change.

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_AN: Alright…that's it for now. _

_Some of my readers didn't appreciate the fact that I started a new story, apart from the six currently in progress. However, I've read some stories about Naruto having the sharingan and something just clicked inside my head. I wanted to write one of my own. _

_Please tell me what you think about it? And for those who were against me doing another story, please take it easy on me. I love writing Naruto stories as this is a way for us to share our view of what the Naruto world would be like__** if**__ either one of us were the creator. _

_**Chapter 2 – Baring the burden**_


	2. Baring another burden

_**AN: **Hello there and finally the second chapter of Cursed Eyes is updated. This chapter will serve to explain everyone's questions about Naruto's sharingan, but it won't give the final reason about what happened; that will be explained in later chapters._

_Also to some of you who already saw my profile, I placed a poll there in regards to Naruto's pairing in this story. Note that the poll will be there for a while, simply because i don't intend for Naruto to bond with anyone in that sort of speaking right now. He will develop his skills to a satisfactory level (my own), beforeit happens. _

_The choices are:_

_Hinata / Temari / Tenten_

_Please go on my profile and register your vote. Now on to the chapter_

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****Chapter 2 – Baring the burden**

**Beta: Dreetje**

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Two days after the Uchiha Massacre, rumors spread about what happened and people conjured several theories as to the reason behind Itachi's actions. Some believed that he was mentally unstable and couldn't handle the pressure of being an Anbu prodigy the same as being a clan heir to one of the founding clans of the village. Others, though, didn't even care about the mental issue, judging the man as nothing more than a criminal and one of the worst caliber, because no matter how pressured one man was, there was no excuse for murdering his entire family.

Despite all the rumors, though, one man had to deal with the facts. No matter Itachi's reasons for doing what he did, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, was rubbing his temples while dealing with the fact than an entire clan was just wiped out by a single man and, surprisingly, none of his Anbu forces were near the vicinity to stop such a terrible act of cruelty. Nonetheless, the man had to take into account that the past is unchangeable and as of two days prior, the Uchiha Clan, once known as one of the most powerful clan in existence was no more. And to think that Itachi would go so far as to kill his own little brother in the most vicious way possible. Hiruzen still shuddered while wondering how one of his Anbu captains could use such powerful illusions on his own little brother to the point of causing brain death. Still, the mystery remained regarding what exactly Itachi showed to Sasuke that it leads to the little boy dying.

After everything that happened, though, the only possible act he could do as Hokage was to provide a proper funeral for those of the Uchiha Clan in respect for how much they provided to the village's protection since its foundation.

He picked one report from a squadron of hunter-nins who were in charge of pursuing Itachi's whereabouts, but without engaging him in battle. They returned, though, with a failed mission as the man simply vanished from the face of the Earth. Actually, Sarutobi kind of expected this outcome, since Itachi not only was considered a prodigy in his family's eyes but also the **AN**satsu Senjutsu Tokushu **BU**tai – ANBU themselves. The man was trained to simply disappear and with the Sharingan, it would be a child's play for Itachi to cast a wide-scale genjutsu to prevent people from seeing him.

Because of the hunternin's team failed report, Sarutobi didn't even have to think twice before adding Itachi to the bingo book as an S-ranked criminal and missing-nin and this would serve for two purposes. One in order to prevent any cocky shinobi of Konoha to even attempt a duel against the only remaining Uchiha and second in order to spread the word to other nations about him no longer being a ninja from Konoha, in case people are afraid of causing a war against the hidden village in the leaves. Surely, no one would be crazy to do so, but still it was a possibility.

Furthermore, the last, but not less important issue that Sarutobi needed to handle and that was the blond bundle of joy named Uzumaki Naruto and the fact that the kid ended up being another victim of Itachi's acts. From what the analysis of the boy concluded was that he received a katon ninjutsu straight to his face, thus burning his eye sockets and retina. However, according to the doctor in charge, by performing an eye transfusion, in particular, Sasuke's eyes, there was a high probability that the blond would be able to see once more. The surgery went fine and now Naruto was under the control of pain killers and anesthesia, so that he can rest without the pain of having a pair of eyes he wasn't used to. The doctor named Takashi said that by the time Naruto woke up, his body would have adjusted to the new set of eyes and he wouldn't feel any kind of difference from his old ones, well except for the appearance now. Whereas Naruto's old eyes were vivid cerulean blue eyes, he now possessed deep black ones that would contradict with the boy's hyperactive nature.

Nevertheless, it was the only thing Sarutobi could do in order to salvage the boy's sight and he knew he would rather kill himself if the boy, on top of being the village pariah for something he didn't do nor asked for, also lost his ability to see. Naruto, he knew, always had a dream of becoming a ninja and even though it wasn't impossible to become one because of one's blindness, it just wouldn't be fair to him. Truth be told, though, while he managed to salvage the blond's sight, Sarutobi was thinking the long term in this manner. He knew Uchiha Sasuke never awakened the Sharingan, but what he doesn't know is about the possibility of Naruto developing the cursed doujutsu.

The old man understood as much about genetics as Jiraiya respected the other sex. The doctor assured him that such a thing was impossible as the Sharingan doujutsu wasn't just because of the eyes, but rather the Uchiha's blood and DNA. So, that being said, even if Naruto possessed Sasuke's eyes, he wouldn't be able to awaken the doujutsu.

However, Hiruzen had enough experience not to presume anything and while the probabilities were slim, there were still a slight chance that the blond manages to awaken the Sharingan. For all he knew, Kakashi's Sharingan eye should've remained with two tomoe, since he received it from his dying friend Obito, but the Hatake prodigy managed to fully evolve the Sharingan to three tomoes and he doesn't possess the Uchiha blood or DNA. Closing his eyes and rubbing his temples in pure frustration, the old man changed his course of thinking for the mean time. This subject was extremely delicate and he would allow some of his time to dwell on it further, of course with the help of Kakashi, since he happens, now, to share a similar fate.

Now, though, as Hokage, he was needed by the village in order to keep things moving; so he started to clean the damned paper work, since missions were coming non-stop and that happens to be Konoha's income.

* * *

**===At the Hospital===**

_Room 608_

There wasn't a day that tragedies didn't end at the hospital as doctors and nursers often commented in their coffee break. People came for whatever reason, from having the feeling that something's wrong with their body to someone on the verge of death. This was their world, to heal the wounded; to save those whose death is hanging at a balance; so despite it all, they managed to find a sort of hobby so that they could cope with the emotional stress of saving lives.

Gossip.

The minute Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto arrived unconscious at the hospital, what Takashi said to the Hokage, was already common knowledge of entire hospital staff. Some of the doctors didn't flinch when they knew what happened to Uchiha Sasuke, simply because they were already used in dealing with severe cases and this was just another one, however the inexperienced ones were feeling nothing more than pure hatred for what an older brother did to the youngest.

So, ever since the massacre happened, Room 608 became the center of attention for all the staff, specially because of the surgery took over ten hours and the head doctor Takashi had to be dispatched home from fear of the man succumbing right there inside the surgery room. Nonetheless, the surgery was a success and at least, the hospital was able to salvage Uzumaki Naruto's eyesight.

It didn't matter that some of the staff tried to dissuade the head doctor against saving Naruto's eyes, since they all knew who the boy is or rather what he represent. A vast majority of the staff remembered the chaos that befallen the hidden village in the leaves when the almighty demon Kyuubi no Yoko attacked and as such, people felt that by leaving Naruto as it is, would be like punishing the demon for his deeds against Konoha. In the end, though, the head Doctor Takashi went through with it, while, proudly, saying that a doctor's job is to heal the wounded, not worry about who the wounded is or what he did wrong. Even if the man never thought ill of the kid. Now, because of the painkillers and anesthesia, Naruto wouldn't wake up until later today when Takashi would remove the blind holds that were preventing the boy's new eyes from being damaged.

* * *

**===Room 608===**

Before; the room was occupied by two individuals, now only one was resting in the middle of the room. His eye region was covered by straps in order to prevent a possible infection, seeing as it was a possible outcome of the surgery. The room, no the entire floor was silent except for noises caused by a nurse's high heels on the cold marble floor.

However, whereas outside one could hear a pin drooping on the floor, inside Naruto's mind, it was a different issue entirely.

…_.Niisan, why you're doing this?"_

…_.Foolish little brother...I did just to test my abilities...._

Scenes of what Sasuke witnessed appeared before Naruto's very eyes as if he was the one witnessing everything. The blond couldn't understand, though, he didn't remember seeing anything like it. The agonizing screams of a child as he started holding his head in order to stop the immeasurable pain. Naruto never saw so much blood in his entire life and the view itself sent chills down his entire body.

But why?...Why was he seeing all this? The last thing he remembered was searching at the garbage cans for some food and the sudden bright light that hit him straight in the face, before his world went blank. Suddenly, the screaming and the pain stopped and Naruto opened his eyes suddenly as if he just awoke from a nightmare, but instead all he could see was white. He, then, screamed in agony while wondering where he was, thus alerting the attending nurse on the floor.

She, then, saw that the blond has awakened and called for the head doctor Takashi to come see what was happening. The man was at the door in minutes and witnessed the blond on the bed, kicking everything, screaming for dear life. He, then, approached the boy and explained what happened since he lost consciousness.

"Naruto-kun, settle down, my name is Takashi and you're at Konoha Public Hospital" - Said Takashi, before the blond relaxed somewhat. Now, it was all explained when he saw white.

"Why am I in the hospital? What happened to me?" - Asked Naruto, while Takashi ordered the nurse to call the Hokage.

"You were victim of a shinobi fire attack directly to your face. We managed to heal everything, just wait for me to remove these straps from your eyes, so that you could see me, everything will be explained once the Hokage arrives" - Explained Takashi, while he was busy unwrapping Naruto's new eyes, so that he could take a look at it. However, the head doctor was ill-prepared for what he saw the second he laid eyes on Naruto's new set of eyes.

Whereas Sasuke's regular eyes were black and it was when it was implanted into Naruto's sockets, now it was red carrying one tomoe. This couldn't have happened, Takashi reasoned. The Sharingan was peculiar to the Uchiha's DNA system, therefore the only way Naruto could have the Sharingan was if it was already awakened at the moment of the transplant. Meanwhile, the blond was looking at Takashi while confused as hell. Before, all he could see was the person in front of him, now, though, the information that was being transferred to his brain was that of a strange blue substance.

"Ah excuse me doctor-san, but what did you do to my eyes?" - Asked Naruto, not sure and a little bit worried about the look of shock displayed by Takashi. The men for his part couldn't for his life, understand how Naruto managed to awake the doujutsu, even though he had an Uchiha's eyes.

"Sorry Naruto-kun, but I'll have to wait for the Hokage to arrive before I can explain what happened to your eyes, you're free to look at them, though if you feel like it. Here take this mirror"

After grabbing the mirror and placing it in front of his face, Naruto went paled instantly. It couldn't be true, he shouted inside his head. The boy almost never looked himself in the mirror, but he didn't need that to know that his eyes were light blue, not the same as those red-eyed stuck up bastards who, accordingly to the blond, considered themselves more important than Kami himself.

Naruto noticed that the Hokage was at the door, but he was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't even greet the old man. Meanwhile, Takashi already engaged in a conversation with the old man. Hiruzen, for his part, came running once he heard the news of Naruto getting better, however when he arrived at the hospital and looked at the head doctor approaching him with a serious visage, he considered the worst case scenario.

"Hokage-sama, as informed, the surgery was successful and the eyes were securely implanted. However, the most unusual thing happened and I guess you should take a look yourself sir" - Said Takashi, earning a nod from the Hokage as he approached the still shocked Naruto. Suddenly, when Naruto's eyes appeared in his eyesight, the Hokage saw, what was assured by the head doctor, to be an impossible occurrence? There it was Konoha's most famous doujutsu, the Sharingan and what appeared was that it was the first stage.

"Takashi-san, how did this happen? You assured me this couldn't have happened" – Asked the Hokage, while being a little bit afflicted by the blond's new eyes. It wasn't that the man loathed the Sharingan it was just that it conflicted heavily with Naruto's happy go lucky demeanor. When the old man looked at Naruto, before, his face was cheerful, you could just look at him and a smile would appear, but now it was the complete opposite.

Naruto's face now bared a look of fear, coldness. It was like his personality left with his eyes. Immediately, the old man's old heart started to ache in sadness; Naruto would still able to see, but he now lacked the very characteristic Hiruzen always enjoyed seeing and it used to fill his heart with joy every time. Takashi sighed in dismay and took a board with the attending nurse that was inside the room with them. He took a look at the chart and immediate shock and immediate realization was upon him. It was a comparative chart of two DNA tests, before and after the surgery that was required before the procedure starts. As he went through the data, he now saw that, somehow, Naruto's DNA changed which in fact explained why he was able to awake the doujutsu.

"Until now, I didn't have a clue why it happened Hokage-sama, but now I do. As you can see in this chart, Naruto-kun's DNA system suffered some changes, presumably, because of the surgery. Apparently, an Uchiha's eye carries the family's DNA sequence, so that's why Naruto now possess the Sharingan" - Explained Takashi as he handed the chart to the Hokage, before the old man started the analysis.

Meanwhile, Naruto was now out of his self-induced coma and paid close attention of the conversation, at least the words he was able to understand as any nine year old infant. Nevertheless, he now understood why his eyes were different. Somehow, his old eyes were damaged and it was replaced by this new ones.

Back to the Hokage, he returned the chart to the head doctor and looked at Naruto for a while. Brushing the thought of how Naruto managed to acquire the Sharingan, the Sandaime Hokage now wondered how Naruto was able to 'awake' it. If memory serves, an Uchiha can only awaken his doujutsu, when in a life or death situation and he was sure Naruto was not in this kind of situation.

"Naruto-kun, how are you feeling?" - Asked the Hokage for the first time, since he arrived, addressed the blond. Naruto for his part looked at him for a while, before offering him his shoulders.

"I don't know what to tell you Jisan, one moment I was looking for food in the garbage cans near the Uchiha compound and the next time I'm in the hospital with different eyes. What is this anyhow? I'm looking at you, but I can also see a strange blue thing sparking within you" - Asked Naruto, earning a smile from the Hokage, since at least for now, Naruto's demeanor didn't change.

"As you know, Naruto-kun, your eyes belonged to one Uchiha Sasuke. Because of a fire attack, your eyes were severely damaged, leaving us no other option but to do a transplant. Now, an Uchiha has a special ability that once awakened, it becomes an immense help while in battles. It's called the Sharingan and it's what you managed to awake, though the reasons still remain unknown. I won't bore you with an explanation about the doujutsu in itself, because you'll receive this tutelage at the academy or you could always read a book about it. Now, I know you mustn't remember, since you're asleep; but do you remember a situation where you were in a life or death situation?" - Asked Hokage, before seeing Naruto's puzzled look and he explained further. "The Sharingan can only be awakened when the user is on a tight spot and it's almost on the verge of death, you'd have to be in one, in order to awake it"

"I don't recall anything Jisan of that sort, but before I woke up today, I had this weird dream. It was already night time in the village and I've never seen so much blood and bodies on the ground dead before. I could hear a kid screaming, but I couldn't see him anywhere, at a man he was calling Niisan who was wearing one of those weird mask guys that goes around the village. I figured it was a dream since I didn't remember anything of this, but somehow, I could feel an immeasurable pain both on my chest and my head. When I woke up and looked at my eyes, they were already like this" - Reported Naruto, earning a sigh in dismay from the Hokage as realization fell upon him.

Somehow, Sasuke's memory was stored in his eyes as the last thing he saw and the life and death situation Naruto participated was the exact same situation that Sasuke went through, although Itachi's genjutsu attacked Sasuke's mind not Naruto's. So, Naruto now had the Sharingan and every piece missing of the story was already filled. The only question remained; can he deactivate the eyes?

"Naruto-kun, I trust you already learned some chakra introduction exercises at the academy, right?" - Asked Sarutobi, earning a nod from Naruto, before he continued. "Right now, you somehow are focusing chakra to your eyes so that the Sharingan remains active, please dispel your chakra for me, please?"

The blond, then, nodded and closed his eyes in concentration seeing as he was never any good in controlling his chakra for reasons that no one managed to explain it to him.

When he opened, though, his eyes went back to normal just like any other Uchiha; except that the blond wasn't one. Sarutobi had enough answers to what he had to plan for the blond, now that he is the sole barrier of the true Sharingan eye. Now, the next item of his agenda was to meet with Kakashi since Naruto now needed to learn how to use the Sharingan and its peculiar abilities. Hiruzen was, though, a bit reluctant to look at Naruto's eyes even if the Sharingan wasn't active any longer. He thought that the blond's unnerving sight was because of the doujutsu, but it wasn't. Even with his black eyes, it still looked like it sucked his life away and he now demonstrated a stoic demeanor.

As the blond watched the Hokage, he kept remembering about the nightmare he had which, accordingly to the old man, was the trigger that activated the doujutsu. Seeing as he didn't remember any of what happened, he always figured that it didn't happen in reality. Now, though, as he knew that he received Sasuke's eyes, somehow he was showing reluctance in admitting that it never happened before.

"Jisan…" – Said Naruto, earning the old man's attention, who in part turned his neck slightly as in studying every bit of Naruto's face in order to get a grip of what he was feeling right now. The blond noticed that he had the old man's full attention and continued to ask. "Could you tell me if what I saw in my dream, the blood stained all over the ground, the bodies all piled up dead and the immeasurable pain in my head, was it all real or just a dream?" – Asked Naruto, before he looked at the Hokage, in hopes that the man would land his hands on his shoulders and with a smile, say that it never happened, it was all a dream. However, Naruto saw no such thing; instead he noticed that the Sandaime was in loss for words, presumably searching for words that he could say to somehow ease this whole affair.

"I'm sorry Naruto, I could very well have lied to you, telling you that was all a dream and you needn't worry about this; but by doing so, it wouldn't be fair to you. Everything you saw in your dream was nothing but reality; Uchiha Sasuke, the one whose eyes you received, witnessed his entire clan being slaughtered by his very brother Uchiha Itachi, to whom you described as wearing the different uniform. Itachi was the one that killed Sasuke by using a strange and powerful technique called genjutsu, which I assume you heard it already at the academy; the art of illusions is a dangerous skill and as such it should be used with care. What Itachi did to Sasuke was to play and replay images of his entire family being killed right before his eyes, an act I find despicable and completely against what Konoha teaches our ninjas" – Explained Sarutobi, before looking at Naruto who in turn was looking down towards his bed sheets while grabbing it and squeezing with as much strength as he could muster. Naruto was angry; angry with everything he had to undertake every day, the hateful glares, the chases around the village and now Uchiha Itachi's act of pure malice.

The blond was alone all his life, never once meeting other people outside the Hokage's office and the Ramen Stand. But even though the others maintained their glare at him, never once did Naruto consider why someone could do what Itachi do to his own family, to his own little brother. Both the Hokage and the Head Doctor understood Naruto's question, since this whole time, the blond actually thought it was nothing more than a dream, but the sad part was that it wasn't just a dream, nothing that appeared in Naruto's mind was a result of his conscious or rather his subconscious.

It was what Sasuke experienced the night of the massacre and it now Sarutobi feared that Itachi's act not only killed Sasuke, but also managed to suck Naruto's hyperactive nature out of him. He tried to cover it up as nothing for the blond to worry about it in hopes of saving the boy's emotions, but it was too late.

"Naruto, please understand that what Itachi did was unforgivable, but you must not allow this pure act of malice to change your attributes. Even though your usual cerulean blue eyes are gone, that doesn't mean your personality must be different" – Said Hokage, trying to convince the boy, but Naruto, instead, was just lost in thought. What the Hokage wanted for him to do was to forget about this and move on with his life, but how could he? The images, the screams, the terrible sound of metal cutting through flesh, it was all real and It would be forever in his mind.

"I just can't ignore this Jisan, it's planted in my head already; there was so much blood and bodies laying on the ground" – Said Naruto as he was looking at Hiruzen, to whom was wondering who this little boy was, because this wasn't the Uzumaki Naruto he knew. _My god Minato, how could I do this to your son; only nine-years old and he has already seen death in front of him; I guess he'll never be the same again._

"Rest a bit, Naruto; Takashi here will make some tests to make sure you're okay. Tomorrow you'll be free to go and I wish for you to come into my office tomorrow afternoon, okay" – Asked the Hokage, earning a nod from the boy, before he was left alone in the room once more.

Naruto wasn't tired so he chose the alone time to wonder about the sudden turn of events. Sasuke wasn't a total stranger to the blond; they met at the academy, although they rarely spoke with one another. The Uchiha was more of an anti-social, Naruto remembered and he, constantly, good the best grades of the classroom.

Thinking about the academy, now, Naruto couldn't help but sigh in dismay. What was he supposed to say to his peers? Naruto wouldn't call friends, but on occasions, three of the students Inuzuka Kiba, Akimichi Chouji and Nara Shikamaru would cut class together with him. Imagine their surprise when his eyes are now black and he possesses the Sharingan. Not to mention that his presence at the Uchiha Massacre was known by the entire village by now, he reasoned. Naruto maybe a kid, but he knew about the wonders of the gossip society; once a secret was out in the open it wouldn't take too long for the entire village to know about it. What if they start asking questions? The blond didn't want to think about how he'd explain what happened, but he knew people would ask questions once they saw the difference in his eyes.

**

* * *

****===At the Hokage's office===**

It was already night time in Konoha and the village was lights were all over the place. Friends meeting at the bars; boyfriend and girlfriend having dinner and families enjoying themselves as they walked throughout the village streets; the shinobi population, albeit those who weren't sent on missions, were enjoying themselves at a special place owned by an ex-chunnin. The only person that was working thus late was the Hokage himself; actually he already dealt with the dreaded paperwork of the day and he was just kicking back on his chair while smoking his pipe.

The Hokage was only waiting for a meeting, before he would retire for the night; the only problem, though, was that the meeting was to be held a couple hours ago and the old man wasn't so thrilled about the man's annoying habit of always being late.

The old man was surprised, though, when the very person he was expecting barged in his office while reading an orange book.

"You're two hours late Kakashi-kun, what gives?" – Asked Sarutobi, already expecting the jounin to give some silly excuse just for him to pardon the jounin and move on.

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama, but this old lady needed some help with her groceries and I had to help her" – Explained Kakashi, while never once taking his eyes away from the book, even going as much as turn the page. Sarutobi, for his part, smiled at the man's antics.

"I'm glad you're preventing this village from the usual D-ranked missions income Kakashi, now I called you here for one reason and one reason only. You do know what Uchiha Itachi was capable of doing that night, didn't you?" – Asked Sarutobi, before he saw a nod, allowing him to continue. "What you don't know is that Itachi, while not outright killed his little brother, he used a terrible genjutsu on his little brother Sasuke, overloading his brain, ultimately killing him. Also, just as Itachi was about to flee the area, he managed to hit a katon attack on little Uzumaki Naruto's face, damaging his entire eyes, rendering them useless" – Said Sarutobi, waiting for a while as Kakashi processed the information, before he continued. "The boy is fine, though we had to make a transplant, using Uchiha Sasuke's eyes"

"Understood; so Itachi did kill his entire clan, then; I've received some reports from my Anbu peers about him, they always considered him unstable beneath the usual stoic demeanor he always showed. Nevertheless, I fail to see why you're telling me this and why you needed me here?" – Asked Kakashi, earning a nod from the old man as he smoked his pipe.

"You're indeed right and the very reason of your presence here is because of what happened today at the hospital" – Explained Hiruzen, while seeing the jounin's attention. "When the doctor unwrap Naruto's eyes, instead of seeing Sasuke's usual black ones in Naruto's sockets; blood red ones appeared with one tomoe ring around the retina. In other words…" – Concluded Sarutobi as Kakashi was displaying a shocked demeanor while processing the entire information. "Naruto is now the sole possessor of the true Sharingan eye"

Kakashi already concluded this before the old man opened his mouth, but somehow hearing it was even harder. Kakashi himself was a victim to the Sharingan transplant; but while his was only one eye, it appears that Naruto received both.

"Hokage-sama, how is his Sharingan; I mean, in my case, I can't activate or deactivate, but…" – Asked Kakashi, earning a nod from the Hokage as he expected this question.

"His is just like any other Uchiha, I'm afraid. He was able to deactivate in front of me once I told him how to do it. This is a serious manner Kakashi and since you and little Naruto share the same story, I figured you'd be best fit to handle an S ranked mission I will assign" – Explained Hokage, while getting behind his table in order to grab a scroll and then hand to Kakashi. As the silver haired jounin opened the scroll, Hiruzen thought best to explain the situation. "This will be a long-term mission, Kakashi and the high rank is so that you will be granted with enough money for both of you out there; seeing as now you're the only one who can teach him how to use the doujutsu, it's imperative that he learn how to".

"But why out of the village and why a full year? I could very well teach him inside the village? Is there something else there, besides training him, isn't it?" – Asked Kakashi, before he saw the old man sighing in sadness, as the sudden old age finally reached him and he wished another one would do this job in his stead.

"News of the blond's presence at the Uchiha Massacre reached the entire village I'm afraid. There won't be long until people starts blaming him for what happened and demand his execution, just like they've been trying since he was born. Keeping him inside the village is already a burden and now that he is the sole barrier of the Sharingan eye, I wouldn't be surprised if those ignorant fools accused Naruto of stealing the prized doujutsu and used it to destroy the village. That so, I'm sending you with him to a training trip so that he can learn the aspects of the Sharingan as well as the ability to defend himself in the future. Meanwhile, I will be able to better control the information and eventually relay the truth by the time you two arrive" – Explained the Hokage, earning a contemplative nod from Kakashi.

"What should I teach him, then? I'm assuming he has some sort of introduction at the academy…" – Asked Kakashi, earning a nod from the Hokage.

"Naruto has some knowledge when chakra is involved, but both his taijutsu and his accuracy needs work, which I'm sure the doujutsu will correct, if not then with practice he could improve greatly. He has difficulty controlling his chakra, simply because the boy has plenty stocked. His Sharingan is in its first stage right now and by the time he comes back, I figure him to advance to stage two. Taijutsu, chakra control and weapon accuracy will be his prime subjects, weapon usage can also be applied but I'll leave that to you to choose. The usual three academy jutsus, he already knows, although the Bunshin no Jutsu was ever completed, most likely because the technique requires so little chakra and he ends overloading the clone, thus failing miserably. I have my reservations regarding elemental ninjutsu, but if you feel that he's ready, than by all means do so. I don't know if he has an affinity yet, but here is a couple of chakra papers for you to give him later on" – Explained the Hokage, earning a nod from Kakashi.

"I'll have someone make some shopping for suitable new clothes, kunais, shurikens, first aid kits and some steel wire. Anything else you think it's wise for the trip?" – Asked the Hokage as Kakashi's hand was holding his chin in a thinking position

"Some weights would be nice to build his physique a little bit and up his speed a little bit; probably 5, 10 and 15 pound weights for each limb as he progresses" – Added Kakashi, earning a nod from the Hokage as he wrote the last item of things to buy.

"Tomorrow, he'll come by my office and I plan to tell him about the trip; it's imperative that you leave as soon as possible tomorrow, Kakashi, do you hear me?" – Ordered Hiruzen to which Kakashi nodded, before proceeding for the door straight for the library, where he would have to gather material for his new student. Kakashi had to curse this situation; every time he got a team of genins, he would fail them, mostly because he would expect them to figure out his puzzle and in the end, no team ever did. However, as training a boy now became a mission, he just couldn't do anything about it.

_Oh well, at least I'll be able to concentrate on my reading, now that I don't have to worry about going on tough assignments. _– Thought Kakashi as he landed right in front of Konoha Public Library. Strange, though, was that the silver haired jounin was actually looking forward to seeing what little Naruto could do. The Sharingan added with limitless chakra supply; the boy could become a ninjutsu specialist.

_**

* * *

**__**AN: Ok, that's about it…I'm afraid.**_

_**Tell me what you think and please review**_


	3. Sharingan Initiation

_Tell me what you think.__ First of all, man, Naruto manga 474 (if you don't want to read it, then just read the next paragraph instead). Sakura had second intentions all along and my suspicions were proven correct. Now, who is with me that if Kishimoto made the man as Kami himself, what chance Sakura has where four Kages weren't able to kill him. Anyway, I'm now eager to see Naruto's resolve in this manner. Will he sought to stop her way of thinking or will he respect what she decided? _

_Furthermore, regarding fan fiction now, for those who were curious about the poll posted last chapter, Temari was the winner. I know this is already common knowledge, since I happen to place her name next to Naruto on the story filters; nevertheless, I just wanted to inform..._

_Now, regarding the chapter, some will question what with all the theory placed, but I believe it's necessary, in order to let the readers know, that Naruto is understand his new burden fully. Of course, there will be training involved, but I'll focus more on theory involving the sharingan, while Naruto progresses in his training. _

_Now on to the chapter..._

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Sharingan Initiation**

**Beta: Dreetje**

* * *

After leaving the hospital, Naruto went straight to his apartment where he lied on the ground, wondering about the images that now plagued his mind constantly. The Hokage so kindly explained to him that what happened in the past must remain as such. But how could he? What he saw...at least what Sasuke saw was nothing short of hell on earth and the blond's mind kept playing over and over again, like some kind of twisted game.

Looking at the clock in his house, the blond sighed in dismay seeing as he had to go to the Hokage's Office in exactly two hours. He didn't want to leave the floor, though. The worse thing of this entire situation that it wasn't caused by a monster or a demon, but a human being...To this time, Naruto just couldn't understand this Uchiha Itachi for having the hearts to do something like this and doesn't even show remorse afterward?

As he got up from the floor and looked at the mirror located in his room, he focused some chakra on his eye region, before the bloody red eyes with one tome appeared. Just the sight alone made Naruto remember Itachi's eyes and frightened wasn't a word that could describe the blond...more like he was afraid for his life.

But...

_What am I doing right now? Wasn't it me who kept screaming to Hokage-Jiichan that I would be the best ninja ever...wasn't I the one who wished for his seat in the future? So why can't I stop thinking about something that didn't even happen to me in the first place? _

Suddenly, a new resolve bombarded his brain as he looked at the mirror once more. Whatever joke someone up there planned for him wouldn't work...these eyes were his now and no matter what happens now or in the future, it wouldn't change. The blond was so excited about this that he didn't even notice that he was standing, instead of sulking on the ground.

The blond admitted knowing next to nothing about the Sharingan Doujutsu; especially because he didn't pay that much attention at the academy, but that would certainly change. Looking at the clock, he was startled by the fact that more than an hour passed ever since he began sulking and he was late to meet the Hokage, considering how fast an academy student travels and the fact that he didn't possess large legs to compensate for his lack of speed.

* * *

**===At the Hokage's Office===**

Sarutobi Hiruzen was calmly passing through all those god damn mission and budget reports that needed his analysis, although the man was certain that the majority of these documents only served to pile up the work he needed to do, because it wouldn't change whether he approved or not...issues like signing a trade agreement that already happened or shinobi missions that were issued by the council, without his approval, that were already carried out. Of course, those missions were just errands that the council member chooses to delegate to Genin teams or lone Chuunin because, apparently, they have too much work, but Sarutobi knew better. Those two became lazy in old age and they thought that as members of the council, they could sit back and relax while he the Hokage got stuck with all the work.

_Huh, sometimes I wonder why I keep this damn council up and running...certainly, the only thing they do (and very good a job at that) is to give bureaucratic excuses for not doing what they should be doing, aiding me in running the village..._

Just as he was about to pick another report to read, before signing it, his door opened with force before Naruto appeared with his hands on top of his knees as he was trying to recover some air. Hiruzen looked at the blond panting in front of him and instantly remembered that he was indeed supposed to be here in order for the Hokage to explain what will happen to the blond and what he would be doing for one year. Nevertheless, since he wasn't expecting Kakashi to arrive on time, Naruto would have to wait a bit.

However and much to Hiruzen squeezing his eyes to see if he was dreaming, the man in question suddenly merged from the door while reading that book of his.

_It's impossible, no it's got to be an illusion...it can't be....Kai! Kai! Kai!_

The old man was in denial and Kakashi was actually enjoying he shocked look on the Hokage's face. He thought about being late once more and get a rise out of the old man, but then he had the idea to do just the opposite and see the man's look of pure shock.

Naruto, in the mean time, was wondering about the situation at hand. A man he never knew just entered in the office and the Hokage was showing a incredulous face, making him wonder what was wrong.

"Ah Jiichan, what's going on? You wanted to see me?

The old man wouldn't budge, though, as he looked the silver haired Jounin, much to Kakashi's hidden laughter. The Hokage was still in denial about the whole thing. Suddenly, Hiruzen cleared his throat, before focusing his attention on the blond, despite the fact that Kakashi being on time for once clearly did damage to his brain.

"Oh Naruto...right. Well, guess you're now aware of the fact that you possess one of Konoha's most famous and equally powerful doujutsu. However, because of you not being an Uchiha, you don't yet possess the skills necessary to use it accordingly. This man behind you is called Hatake Kakashi and he's one of our elite Jounins..."

Naruto turned to meet this Kakashi, but the entire time he was focusing on the book just waving his hand to the blond, greeting him. After both greeted each other, Hiruzen turned to explain once more.

"Kakashi here happens to possess experience in using the eye to its fullest capacity. As such, I just assigned him to train you in this department. You two will be leaving the village and travel to a place ten miles away from here, any questions?"

The blond was looking at the aged Hokage as if the man had two heads all of a sudden. What is this about really? Why would he have to leave the village in order to train? Doesn't Konoha have like...hundreds of available training grounds? Many questions passed inside his mind immediately and he wanted nothing more than answer from them all. Nevertheless, he reasoned that leaving the village for a while would actually be good for him to sort things out a bit and even learns what he needed to know about his new eyes.

"I have just one question, Jiichan. Just how much time will this trip take? - Naruto asked.

"One year will be more than adequate for Kakashi here to drill any valuable information there is to know about the Sharingan, including helping you improve in some areas he finds you needs room for improvement"

Both Sarutobi and Kakashi knew the boy wanted to ask more questions, but since the blond didn't verbalize them, they wouldn't pry. The blond, for instance, nodded at the assignment and turned to the Jounin in question.

"Okay then Kakashi-san, when and where do we leave?"

Kakashi smiled at his new student and closed his book, before addressing the blond.

"Meet me at the west gate in two hours, don't bother in packing anything, I got everything you're going to need sealed in a scroll in my possession"

The blond nodded, before saying his goodbye to the Hokage and leaving the room towards his apartment. Meanwhile, both Kakashi and Hiruzen were having a conversation about the blond's attitude and sudden reservation of asking whatever bugged his mind.

"Something's wrong here Hokage-sama; for what you said, he wouldn't wait five seconds before he bombarded you with questions" - Kakashi asked with clear curiosity; however the Hokage's sudden realization caused the man to sigh in dismay.

"I feared this, Kakashi. When Naruto received the eyes, unfortunately, he received Uchiha Sasuke's last vision before he was dead, meaning the blond is the sole witness of the Massacre. Because of this, whereas before he would be ecstatic at the idea of training, now he appears more reserved as in doubting my word. I don't know Kakashi if giving Naruto, an Uchiha's eyes was such a good idea, but then wouldn't be better than him being blind, isn't it?"

Kakashi could very well see that the Hokage was wondering about his choice more than he wanted an answer to his rhetorical question.

"I don't know Hokage-sama, however Naruto won't be like this forever, I mean, it was just yesterday his entire world changed and just now is he coming in terms with it. With time, I believe he'll return to his normal, albeit of course more reserved, behavior. Until then, though, he's mine to work him to the ground…once a month I'll be sending reports on his status"

"I'm sure hope you're right Kakashi, just seeing that usually cheerful demeanor getting crumbled by one of my top elite Anbu members. You may go now Kakashi and please train him to best of your ability. I'll be waiting for the monthly reports…" – Hokage said, before Kakashi bowed and left the room.

* * *

**===At the west gate===**

Hatake Kakashi was reading his book as he waited for his student to arrive at the west gate. Strapped on his back, was a huge scroll which carried everything Naruto would need throughout the year. Thinking about what the Hokage said, Kakashi couldn't shake the fact that Naruto's entire personality was stripped from him just because of the eye transplant, however the boy's uncharacteristically reversion demeanor was indeed disturbing to say the least. The silver haired Jounin was considering if Naruto would become just like all of the Uchihas, stuck-up, egoistical and arrogant. Taking his attention away from the book, Kakashi looked at the approaching figure as he studied the blond for a while. Nothing about the blond showed to Kakashi that he was seeing a kid approaching him. Naruto approached him with calculated footsteps, calculated breathings; in other words, the blond was walking like he was expecting something to happen if his eyes looking around were any indication.

"Ready to go Naruto, we're going to be away for one year, so say your goodbye to the village for now" – Kakashi said.

Naruto nodded before looking backwards. The village he was born in, the village he loved with all his heart…the village that stroke the worst pain of all and no such thing will wipe that fateful memory from his mind. The blond just hoped that within the year, he would learn to cope with what happened, even though it didn't happen to him directly.

"As ready as I'll ever be…Kakashi-sensei"

And so, the two travelled by foot towards the place where they would live for the entire year. The entire path was filled by trees and Kakashi could very well arrive at the location in ten minutes by hopping on trees, but the man figured Naruto didn't have the body or the stamina to choose this sort of transportation, so they kept on walking. It didn't matter, though, as Kakashi estimated close to an hour trip. The place they are heading to was a secluded cottage next to river and surrounded by a forest, in other words, perfect for Kakashi to train Naruto in every aspect of the way, baring from pure stamina exercises to, quite possibly, elemental ninjutsu if he judges the blond capable of in the future.

AS the two walked, little to no conversation was being shared. Naruto was silent observing the path around them and Kakashi was busy half focusing on his book and on the blond next to him. Kakashi was considering the fact that at least he wouldn't have to worry about teaching the blond how to pay attention to his surroundings, since by observing his behavior, Kakashi could tell that the blond would narrow his sight in concentration at any noise caused, even if was just animals going around with their lives or something like that. Kakashi's attention was finally broken when Naruto turned to address him, Sharingan already ablaze in his once onyx black eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei, can I ask you something?" – The silver haired Jounin just nodded. "Looking around with the Sharingan eye, I've noticed that I could see people's movements before they actually begin, is this the Sharingan is all about?"

If Kakashi was shocked by the sudden question, he wasn't showing it. The truth was that while he didn't know Naruto was experimenting with the doujutsu, the blond, maybe on a subconscious level, understands the very concept of the kaleidoscope eye.

"Partially true, yes, the Sharingan has many attributes and one of them is certainly to predict one's movements before he or she actually makes them. Naruto, getting a grasp of the eye's theory will be our first target, since it's imperial that you understand everything there is to know about the weapon you now have in your eyes, but I'll give you a crash course about the Sharingan and its levels. First, is the level you're in right now with only tomoe in each eye. Within this form, you can partially predict movements as well as see the opponent's chakra array, albeit a little bit blur. Only after the second stage of the Sharingan, with composes of two tomoe in each eye, would you be able to fully visualize the opponent's chakra flux and composition. Within the second level, the Sharingan can then copy the hand signs as well as how much chakra is needed for either ninjutsu or Genjutsu. Finally, the third level, which of course, is composed of three tomoe in each eye, is when an Uchiha is complete and no technique escapes from the eye's copying ability. Also as your Sharingan develops, your speed will certainly increase simply because you'd be one step ahead of every move your opponent makes"

Naruto was listening intently to the lecture as he processed the information. Right now, he was at level one, meaning that he could predict movement to a certain aspect and be aware when a chakra based attack would come.

"It's both mine and Hokage-sama's expectation that within the end of our trip, you'll reach the second level of the Sharingan; however that doesn't mean you cannot reach the third level if we work you hard enough. We'll be focusing on stamina exercises to improve your muscles and chakra related exercises in order to maintain your Sharingan active for longer periods of time. Not to mention the usual skills a ninja should possess like weapon accuracy, stealth and agility. Also, the Sandaime gave me permission to teach you more advanced abilities like the Uchiha Taijutsu Style called Setsuju-Ryuu (Intercepting Fist) and even elemental jutsu, but the latter will only occur if I judge you worthy of such power being so young; but that's a problem for another time. For now, we'll focus on getting used with the doujutsu and train your body accordingly as well"

The blond nodded, and while very curious about what the man meant by elemental jutsus, he figured that it would be explained with time. After that, silence soon reined the conversation until both arrived at their designated place where they would spend an entire year training. Naruto took a moment to look around and was fascinated by the fact that a medium sized waterfall was a few meters away from the good looking, albeit rather simple, cottage near the lake. Not that looks matter to the blond, since any accommodation would be far better than the apartment he resides in Konoha.

Upon entering, Naruto was surprised about the cottage's decoration. It was reduced to a single couch and two beds on the far left corner. The kitchen or at least the blond considered to be a kitchen, had nothing more than a small refrigerator with a stove next to it, strapped to a small wood dining table with two wooden chairs. Kakashi for his part, never been here so he was surprised as well; nonetheless, he left his backpack and the scroll on the couch, before opening the fridge in order to see what's inside, before noticing that it was empty. However, when he placed the hand inside, he was surprised that it was cool. _I didn't know that this place had any electricity at all, oh well it's not like there is a grocery store nearby to buy some food. _

Closing the fridge, he looked back to see Naruto inspecting the huge scroll lying on the couch.

"I'm sure it's a great idea to see what's inside, so why don't you roll it on the ground, so that I can teach you a vital skill a ninja should have about sealing scrolls"

Naruto nodded, before complying with the request as he rolled the scroll on the ground all the way. He was surprised that the scroll's length took almost the entire cottage, but he turned to Kakashi nonetheless, waiting for the man to explain what he'd be learning right now.

"This chakra art is called Fuuinjutsu and while it's nowadays considered a lost art, just about every shinobi I know uses either scrolls for sealing objects like weapons or even to summon the elements of nature. Sealing objects inside the scroll is very ease just as its useful skill to learn. In order to do that, you just open this sealing scroll and place the desired object on top of the markings in the middle of the seal. Any fuuinjutsu master would be able to draw this markings in a blank scroll, but since they already sells sealing scrolls, we won't waste time learning how to draw the seal array. After you positioned the object in the middle of the scroll, all you have to do is to focus your chakra on the seal and it will do the rest, give it a try with this scroll here first"

After the explanation, Naruto took the scroll and picked up a shuriken Kakashi gave to him, before he did like he was told. After placing the shuriken in the middle of the scroll, he made the rat hand seal and began on focusing chakra on the seal. For a while, there nothing happened, until a smoke suddenly replaced the shuriken and a specific kanji appeared in the middle of the sealing array, meaning that Naruto was successful, much to Kakashi's smile.

"Okay Naruto, now that you've learned how to seal objects, you'll be responsible for unsealing every object that's sealed in the scroll I brought. As you'll notice, the scroll has several sealing arrays written, instead of only one, which means that for each sealing array, there is an object sealed inside. By unsealing it, you'll have to do the same thing, but one for each sealing array. Try using your Sharingan as well, this will serve to better adapt your chakra control by focusing on using chakra in both points; your eyes and the scroll"

Then, as Kakashi picked up some sort of notebook, presumably to figure out Naruto's training for the year; the blond started unsealing the lengthy scroll splattered on the warm wooden floor. The first sealing array revealed a couple of books and some minor scrolls, before Naruto remembered that he was supposed to know everything there is to know about the Sharingan, so he moved to the next and so on. By the end of it all, he could see boxes of projectiles like shuriken and kunais, new set of clothes, training weights, a huge stack of fruits and vegetables (apparently instant ramen was too much to bring, huh?). What surprised Naruto the most, though, was the last item he unsealed. A stack of two swords, maybe wakizashis by the size of them; but Naruto could easily see that both of them were special. One carried a dark menacing yellow holster and the other one carried a bloody red holster and the blond could read one inscription in each of the swords, but before he could read, Kakashi appeared explaining to him.

"They are called Tora and Doragon Naruto. By the holster color, you can identify which one is it. As you can see, this smaller blade is called a Wakizashi and while it's not as strong as a katana, it's faster and more open to maneuvers. To a samurai, a Katana would be preferable, since they rely on strength, but for a ninja who relies more on speed, shorter blades like these in front of you are better utilized to our purpose. Sandaime-sama did also allow me to teach you to a few Kenjutsu styles to go along with them, but that will also depend on whether I believe you're ready for it, just like elemental ninjutsu. Now, why don't you change your clothes and meet me outside for our first day of training"

The blond chose, instead, to admire the blades in front of him as Kakashi quite expected him to do. Naruto may have changed his attitude, turning into a more reserved individual, but even so, he was only nine years old and as such he was easily impressed by the look of things. Afterwards, the blond picked up his new set of clothing and went to change immediately. Naruto was surprised when he looked at himself after getting changed. The clothes looked rather simple; however it managed to fit him rather nicely. He was now wearing black Anbu Pants with blue sandals and a navy blue t-shirt, but what surprised him was that apart from his old clothes, this one was much lighter and his movements were much lighter than it was before.

Upon leaving the cottage, he spotted Kakashi in the middle of the clearing, while reading that book of his. As the blond approached, curiosity started to fill his mind as he took a closer look to the book. The name Icha Icha Paradise was somewhat familiar to the blond as he found one copy inside the Hokage's desk and while Naruto didn't read it, he certainly found strange that the majority of the male population had a copy of this book. Upon arriving, Kakashi broke the concentration from the book and looked at the blond in front of him.

"In order to keep the Sharingan activated during a fight, both your chakra and your stamina must be perfectly tuned. Being that said, until I say otherwise, you'll keep your Sharingan active all the time whether you're training your stamina or your chakra. So, we'll be starting by adding five pounds to each of your limbs as you go through some physical exercises, for now you'll run around this training field twenty times, before you'll complete fifty push-ups and sit-ups. Now, activate your Sharingan and get started" – Kakashi explained, before the blond positioned the weights and started running around the training field. The weights were nothing to come by at first, but upon the blond's tenth lap, his muscles were beginning to get rigid by the pace, nevertheless, he just kept on going with the notion that he would get stronger because of this. The Uchiha massacre did little to drive Naruto's dream away from him and his desire to become a ninja like the Sandaime and Yondaime Hokage remained. By the end of the running, the blond was panting slightly, but he started the next exercises by lying down on the ground and began the push-ups.

Kakashi was watching everything with a smile on his face at the blond's drive and determination. He knew the first time using weights was tough on anyone; simply because no one is accustomed to the sudden added body weight. However, the blond just kept the exercise going, even though it was evident to the silver haired Jounin that Naruto was feeling pain on his muscles by now. After the last sit-up, Naruto was in front of Kakashi, breathing with difficulty as it was expected.

"Good work Naruto, these three exercises will be done every morning until I see that you got used to it. In time, we'll increase the weights and the number of repetitions. Now, we'll practice your Taijutsu. The Uchiha's Intercepting Fist is an unique style and can only be used by predicting the opponent's moves, in other words, your movements would have to be made before the opponent starts his movement, any questions?" - Kakashi explained, before Naruto nodded.

"Understood, however if the style is like you said, then without the Sharingan it's pretty much useless, right? What if for some reason, I can't use the Sharingan and have to protect myself?" - Naruto asked, followed by a smile from Kakashi.

"Granted that the Uchiha created this Taijutsu style only to rely on the Sharingan, however the doujutsu isn't the only way for you to anticipate your opponent. With enough experience, shinobi's instinct proves to be a major asset in battle, meaning that your experience shows you the move before the enemy proceeds. You'll be trained in both ways, using your Sharingan and not using it. Now, I'll attack you using low speed so that you can see the attack and move to defend it. Afterwards, I'll give you a scroll about the Intercepting Fist for you to memorize the katas"

As Naruto fell into the Academy standard Taijutsu style, Kakashi immediately set himself to attacking the little blond slowly so that he could get a feel of the Sharingan in the midst of battle.

* * *

**===At night===**

A few hours later, Naruto was sore from head to toe and he wanted nothing more than just sleep for a whole day. Kakashi followed after the blond inside the cottage as they prepared their beds in order to go to bed. After the Taijutsu program, Naruto started reading the scroll which detailed the Uchiha's Taijutsu style, but fatigue soon reached him and he couldn't read more than fifteen minutes, before his eyes were started to close without his will.

Kakashi had the intention of conversing with Naruto about his training, but when he looked at the blond, unsurprisingly; Naruto was already fast asleep, which earned a smile from Kakashi, since he knew that this would happen constantly. Kakashi admitted that one year would only serve to teach Naruto the basics and nothing more, so he intensified the training regimen in order for Naruto to be considered Genin level by the time the year ended. Suddenly, the man's senses alerted him of an intruder in the vicinity, before he left the cottage. Once outside, Kakashi was face to face with the person who initiated all this mess. Full Anbu gear and the weasel mask on his face, Uchiha Itachi was standing there as in waiting for Kakashi to leave the cottage. The strange thing, though, was that Kakashi wasn't intimidated by the last Uchiha and that was suspicious in its own terms.

"Greetings, Kakashi-sempai. Can we talk...far from here...I can't risk being exposed right now"

The silver haired Jounin acquiesced with the Anbu's request, before both vanished from sight and appeared a couple of meters far from the cottage, since Kakashi couldn't leave Naruto alone in there.

"You went beyond what was expected Itachi. Sasuke didn't deserve this fate and certainly not Naruto. It's a miracle that the transfer procedure was a success, otherwise he would be blind right now"

Kakashi's tone holds no malice against Itachi, but the facts alone carried a stronger punch on his face. Ever since the attack on the Uchiha, Itachi's consciousness was beating him like a rag doll, but he couldn't take it away anymore. He never meant to deliver this fate for his little brother, nor would he attack Naruto if he knew it was him who appeared that day.

"I carried my mission with utmost efficiency, Kakashi-sempai. The Uchiha Clan's plans for a coup would soon come into fruition and they would be using the demon sealed in Naruto-kun to destroy everything in their path. Regarding my little brother, though, my intentions were for him to despise me, to hate me so that he wouldn't come to me seeking revenge, but unfortunately, I haven't anticipated that his brain wouldn't be able to take the sudden overload of the Tsukyomi. As to Naruto, I was so engrossed on the mission that I didn't pay attention to my surroundings and when a shadow appeared by the Uchiha's courtyard, I moved by sheer instinct and the results you already know"

As Kakashi listened to it all, he noticed that Itachi's rather stoic voice was beginning to change and he sensed a great deal of regret in it. The silver haired Jounin sighed in dismay at the sudden consequences of Itachi's mission, but there was nothing more to do now...what's done is done and nothing would change.

"Unfortunately, we can't do anything to change the past Itachi. It took great courage from your part to do what was needed, but surely the brain overload you're suffering right now is huge. You need to rest a bit and recover" - Kakashi said.

The weasel masked shinobi nodded and was about to leave, before he looked at the cottage and then turned to Kakashi.

"Don't make him too dependent on the Sharingan, Kakashi. The only reason my family was killed, was because they were blinded by what the doujutsu told them. Naruto-kun has a bright future ahead of him and can very well be a force to be recognized with within a few years of hard work. Also, I've been meaning to warn Konoha about an organization out there after the nine tailed beasts and I'm afraid Naruto will be targeted in the future. I trust that you have some sort of secure communication system with Hokage-sama in order to relay the information, right? The organization's name is Akatsuki and its leader just asked me to join, which I accepted only to spy on them, I'll keep in touch Kakashi to know about him and to relay information about when the organization is after Naruto-kun" - Itachi said, with his back towards Kakashi, thus not seeing the look of surprise shown by the copy-nin.

"Naruto is a special case, so don't worry about it. For someone who grew up accustomed to the village's hatred and with the images of the Uchiha Massacre on his head, there is little that could drive him away from his dream of protecting the village he so cares about. I understand your concern and you have my word that I'll drill this thought into his mind if I have to. Nevertheless, I shall warn Hokage-sama of this organization via my summons, there's no one more reliable than them. I will have to increase the blond's training, then. If some organization will be after him in the future, he needs to be prepared for it, must appreciated Itachi, until next time we meet"

Itachi nodded, before leaving in a shunshin, as Kakashi arrived inside the cottage once more. Seeing as Naruto was still sleeping, Kakashi decided to follow him, thus lying on his bed and closing his eyes for tomorrow. Nevertheless, the sudden knowledge of a powerful organization out there which is after Naruto, even if indirectly, surely poses a significant threat to the blond's well-being. Also the fact that Itachi would be on its members, somehow Kakashi knew that the member's level would be similar or maybe even higher than the Uchiha Prodigy. No doubt, Sandaime needed to hear this…

* * *

**===the next day===**

After Naruto finished the warming exercises, which were still hard by the way, the blond was being trained in target practice by Kakashi as well as some other skills like stealth and agility. Kakashi was surprised that even though the blond's throwing skills wasn't still top notch, he managed to hit the target 8 out 10 shurikens and 7 out of 10 kunais.

The most surprising was that the Sharingan wasn't active. Kakashi wondered why Naruto's skills with projectiles weren't listed in his file, but he paid it no mind.

"Naruto, very good. With a few tips and the Sharingan, you'll be able to hit every target with ease. So, let's try again, only this time try to loosen up your wrist a bit. The movement has to be swift and precise, so by applying too much force to the throw and the projectile won't maintain a straight path like you intended"

Naruto nodded and did as he was told, activating the Sharingan and focusing on the target in front. This time, although he improved, getting 9 out of 10 shurikens and 8 out of 10 kunais, Kakashi just knew Naruto could hit them all on target with enough practice.

"We'll keep doing this for a while and then we'll move on to moving targets, okay?" - Explained Kakashi.

Kakashi didn't explain to him, but by keeping the Sharingan active throughout the entire ordeal did wonders to his chakra control and in no time, Naruto would be able to learn the first exercise a Genin must do, which was the tree walking exercise.

After the projectiles training, Naruto moved on to agility practice which consisted of dodging wooden shurikens thrown by Kakashi. By focusing chakra to his legs, Naruto learned that he could increase his speed and evade the projectiles, but that did little to escape from Kakashi's precise projectiles, but the fact that some of them missed, Kakashi was satisfied with the improvement.

"Naruto, pay attention at the shurikens in order to learn their trajectory! You can't hope to evade them if you don't know where they would hit"

The blond was beginning to consider Kakashi a slave driver, but no once did he complain at the training. He was feeling his muscles pulsing in slight pain, although it was less painful than the first time, Naruto's movements were still restricted by the weight attached to his limbs. He looked forward and saw that three shurikens flew towards the position he would land and he smirked once the Sharingan detailed their trajectory. Landing one of his feet on the ground, he focused some chakra and managed to change directions, before the shurikens flew past him and hit the tree instead, much to Kakashi's smile.

"Good job, now what will you do once I increase the number of projectiles, say 10 for instance?"

Kakashi didn't even wait for a response as he appeared with five in each hand before throwing all of them at Naruto. At first, panic reached the blond from not knowing what to do against the attack, but then he realized that by doing this, he'd never get this exercise done, so he focused on the image the Sharingan displayed, before calculating each shurikens' designated target. His mind alerted him to the fact that all projectiles aimed for a specific part of his body. With a swift move, Naruto rolled to the left, before he saw the shuriken passed through him, without posing any danger.

However, the blond was ill-prepared when Kakashi appeared behind him and placed deadly kunai just inches from his jugular.

"Good job once more, however this is one lesson you have to carry with you every day. You must pay attention to your surroundings at all times. Shurikens are sometimes used for distraction and the opponent could only wait until you dodge them, before attacking when you're occupied. I'll be doing this from time to time to see how your perception of danger is tuned. Now, let's get some lunch, I'm starving; how about you?"

The silver haired Jounin smiled at the blond's stomach suddenly voicing his opinion and the fact that Naruto blushed in embarrassment only proved to increase the man's laughter, much to the blond's chagrin, as he muttered some curse words.

During lunch time, Kakashi thought about talking to Naruto, outside of training to get a feel of the blond's thoughts right now. He was surprised, though, that Naruto was using this time out of the village in order to ease his thoughts on the manner. Naruto talked about everything that happened since that fateful day and opened up to Kakashi that the memory was quite overwhelming to swallow, but he also felt confident that with time, he would learn how to cope, a thought shared by Kakashi who in turn assured the blond that he would help in any way he could and that Naruto could always talk to him about it.

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei, but I believe just the time outside the village will be enough to sort things out. So what's left on the agenda for today?"

Kakashi smiled at his student's endless determination. Surely, this year will be very interesting.

* * *

**===One month later===**

What at first started slow just for Kakashi to get a grip of Naruto's skills, one month later, the blonds' skills skyrocketed. With the Sharingan, Naruto managed to learn the Taijutsu style with utmost efficiency as his speed nearly doubled since they started the training. His physical work out doubled as well with the blond now carrying 10 pounds per limb and doing twice the workout. Right now, Kakashi was testing Naruto in a Taijutsu match where he would increase the pace to a Genin level fight. He was surprised how much the blond improved since the start. Right now, they were fighting with a kunai in hand as Kakashi saw that Naruto was quite adapt to using small blades in a fight. Suddenly, they met each other on the air as the weapons clashed with one another, resonating a much peculiar sound. Both Naruto and Kakashi landed on the ground, before doing back-flips. Instantly, both of them picked shurikens and threw at each other, before meeting in the middle.

There was a reason Kakashi and Naruto were moving alike and that was because this is the exact nature of the Intercepting Fist; to act before the opponent have the chance to. The fight lasted for half an hour before Naruto dropped on the ground panting in exhaustion. He was able to maintain the Sharingan for a longer period of time, but still wasn't enough.

"Don't worry Naruto, as the doujutsu evolves, you'll be more accustomed with it, meaning you won't spend too much chakra keeping it active. Now, take five and I'll teach you a new chakra control exercise" - Kakashi said.

The silver haired Jounin smiled at the blond in front of him as he imagined how much he grew from one month. His muscles were certainly more defined and his stamina increased, meaning he could maintain a Taijutsu fight against a Jounin level shinobi while at the same time focusing chakra on his eyes. Kakashi was certain that the blond wouldn't have much of a problem with the tree walking exercise, since maintaining the Sharingan active is the same principle.

"Kakashi-sensei, I was wondering about something...." - Naruto said, gathering his sensei's attention. "During our fight, for a minute of two, the Sharingan showed me your moves before you performed them. But that wouldn't happen after it went to the second level, right?"

Kakashi pondered for a while to give the answer for Naruto. He didn't know if Naruto was on the verge of evolving his Sharingan or the fact that he was pumping more chakra to his eyes than necessary, thus giving him a better vision. Nevertheless, he figured that both situations would end up evolving his Sharingan, so he showed a smile to the blond.

"If what you said is true, Naruto; then your Sharingan has entered in the process of evolution. You did read a part of the book I gave you that detailed the exact time of the sharingan's evolution. In your case, you'll begin to see the effects of the second level doujutsu, until it finally evolves. Congratulations..." - Kakashi said with a smile on his face as he saw Naruto smiling as well. "With the second level Sharingan, you'll be able to move on to the ninjutsu and Genjutsu portion of this training, now the exercise I'm about to teach you is called tree climbing exercise"

"..."

The look of pure confusion appeared in the blond's face and he questioned if there was someone at his age not able to climb trees. Kakashi saw his doubt and explained.

"I know what you'll say as others already asked before. You won't learn how to simply climb trees, but rather climb without the use of your hand. Like this..."

Kakashi focused chakra on his feet and began walking up the tree on his side, much to Naruto's surprised demeanor. After he dropped to the ground, he turned to Naruto once more to explain.

"You can do this by focusing chakra to your feet in order to stick your feet at the tree's hard structure. Use a kunai to mark your progress, okay. Oh and one more thing, you won't be using the Sharingan for this"

"Why not?" - Naruto asked.

"Remember what I taught you Naruto, the Sharingan is nothing but a tool at your disposal, you cannot become too dependent on it to the point where you can't do anything without it. Now, get moving!"

The little blond nodded now without question and deactivated the sharingan. Since they started this training, Kakashi would repeat the sentence 'look underneath the underneath' as it was his mantra. He explained that in order to develop a shinobi's mind, one must always look beyond appearances, ask questions when needed and seek answers when possible. The sharingan is nothing but a tool, he said. To Naruto, this concept wasn't foreign at all, but maybe there was something there his sensei wanted him to figure out. Kakashi had enough experience under his belt to know that in theory the sharingan is obviously an Uchiha's tool to overcome the opponent, but when practice is involved, it wouldn't be that simple. Perhaps something happens in the future that Naruto needs to watch out for. So far, nothing of the sort happened, but if Kakashi said so, then is need for the blond's concern.

* * *

**===In Konoha===**

One month passed since Naruto left with Kakashi and Sarutobi was satisfied with the first report. Kakashi was now focusing on building Taijutsu and stamina, also focusing on his weapon throwing skills and agility as well. His Sharingan wasn't yet evolved to the second stage, but Kakashi was confident that Naruto could reach in another month or two. Hiruzen was reluctant to allow Kakashi to teach Kenjutsu to Naruto, but he was certain that the man had his reasons to think of such skills and the Hokage trusted Kakashi to do the right thing.

Regarding the boy's training, Sarutobi couldn't be more pleased. Regarding about his reputation, though, was a different matter entirely. The population already knew that the blond was present at the Uchiha Massacre and they were demanding answers to the probable cause of the Kyuubi being behind all this, even though it was clear to the Hokage and the Anbu that Naruto was only wandering around before he was hit in the face by Itachi's fire attack. Hiruzen could very well relay this information to the population, but it wouldn't take long until they realize Naruto isn't blind and figure out the truth.

Another fact that clearly bothered Hiruzen, was this new organization Akatsuki which is after the tailed beasts, like the one residing inside Naruto. Certainly, precautions must be made in order to assure Naruto's survival, however without much information to rely on; there was no way he could make a proper assessment. Certainly, he would need someone who could dig the information through the entire elemental nations and the man just knew said person.

_Huh, it seems I'll get to see my old student once more, I wonder how that old pervert is doing?_

* * *

**===With Naruto and Kakashi===**

It was already night time and Kakashi was reading his book while observing Naruto trying consecutive times to climb the entire tree only for his feet to slip from its hold and Naruto uses the momentum to flip and land on his feet on the ground. The blond already managed to reach half of the tree, but for some reason, he was adamant about going all the way, even though his chakra was starting to deplete. Naruto for his part was panting on the ground severely. He kept trying a few more, but he couldn't anymore and he dropped unconscious on the ground, earning a sigh in dismay from his sensei. Immediately picking the blond on his arms, Kakashi proceeded towards the cottage, before placing Naruto on his bed.

* * *

**===Inside Naruto's mindscape===**

Directly after being unconscious, the blond started dreaming about something. He suddenly woke up below a different roof as he listened to the calming noise of a river. Getting up from his bed, Naruto walked towards the door, before opening it revealing a rather spacious garden with the river in the middle. It was strange to the blond how familiar he felt as he walked throughout the deck towards the kitchen. Upon entry, the blond saw what appeared to be a gorgeous black haired woman doing the dishes while singing. The blond found that the voice was incredibly enticing and comforting, thus remaining there to listen. The woman, though, stopped and turned to see the blond.

"Good morning Sasuke-kun, did you sleep well?"

Naruto was surprised at the greeting, but, somehow, he greeted this person as if he was Uchiha Sasuke. But what surprised him the most was Sasuke's response.

"I have Okaasan, what's for breakfast?"

Naruto or Sasuke pushed the chair and took a sit by the table as he saw Sasuke's mother place some pancakes in front of him with a bottle of orange juice.

"Eat up Sasuke-kun or you'll be late for the academy"

The blond was confused. He knew this was a dream...how could he not? In here he was Sasuke, after all. So why didn't he wake up? The blond never knew his mother, so a strange feeling hit him out of a sudden and he wondered if this what it feels like to be loved by a mother. Suddenly, the image fast-forwarded and Naruto saw himself on the door leaving before Sasuke's mother appeared, giving him a peck on the cheek, before giving Sasuke's lunch.

"Good luck at the academy today Sasuke-kun, I want to hear about it when you come back"

Naruto could very well feel his skin getting warmer, which indicated a heavy blush on Sasuke's face, but he couldn't help but smile at his mom for how much love she provides for him.

"Sure do Okaasan; I'll make you proud of me"

Being only a kid, Sasuke shot his arms to the sky in order to prove to his mother that he really meant what he said and would do everything to please the lovely lady. However, what the woman said, Naruto was feeling his heart getting warmer and he couldn't help but smile at Sasuke's memory.

"I'm already proud of you Sasuke-kun more than you imagine"

The dream fast-forwarded once more until Naruto saw it once more...images of what happened on that fateful night, but instead of everyone getting killed by Itachi's hands, the only image that now stood before Naruto was that of Sasuke's mother dead by his father's side. The blond suddenly jerked open his eyes and noticed that he was back at the cottage, which meant he might have passed out and Kakashi-sensei brought him here. Looking to the side, he saw the man in question sound asleep, before he looked at the ceiling once more. The dreams were beginning to improve, but no matter what happened, it always ended with images of the Uchiha Massacre much to the blond's chagrin and constant curse. It didn't matter, though, as in time, he would find a way to cope with what happened.

* * *

_**AN: Oh, so Itachi appeared and so did the truth behind the Massacre. **_

_**Tell me what you think.**_


	4. The birth of a prodigy

Author Note

_Okay another chapter of Cursed Eyes and I'll say that my OC is finished. I've created her based on the reader's ideas and some of my own. While I won't reveal her yet, I can say that her background will be sufficient enough not to disrupt the knowledge brought by Kishimoto. She has her own story of pain and hardships to deal with._

_One thing that always got me thinking as I watched the Anime, was that Kishimoto only focused on Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura's background, telling only bits and pieces of Kakashi, Anko, Tsunade, Jiraiya and Orochimaru. But what about Kurenai, Asuma, Gai…don't they count for something? This happens to be the main reason of why I created an OC, so that I could create a nice background for her and not focus the entire story on the main character's history._

_Another thing, have you ever wondered "Who is the hottest, sexiest, most beautiful girl ever created in the world of anime?" Well now's your chance to vote for your own Top 10. Kingkakashi besides having a great story, he has set-up a poll about this very question on his profile page. Help answer and settle this issue once and for all._

_Well, check his profile and take a look at the list. _

_One last thing and after that I'll promise that I won't bug the readers anymore; did anyone read the latest manga yet? I don't get it…For the last 100 or so issues, Kishimoto is showing how godlike Sasuke is by placing him against the most powerful opponents throughout the elemental nation; the Raikage and his two guards, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, the Mizukage and Danzou. And as usual, he managed to bea them all with nothing but his Mangenkyou Sharingan. Let me tell you, it's so irritating to see it. Everything they threw at him, it was blocked, while he managed to attack them and even hurt them. Now, Kakashi is next in line to take a beating, because, and this is just a theory of mine, only Naruto will manage to defeat Sasuke. What the hell is Kishimoto's deal anyway? It's like he's setting up a tournament and one that manages to beat Sasuke wins. He should focus on being more realistic from time to time, instead of showing a sixteen year old brat fending off against twice as experienced shinobi and merging victorious, that's just ridiculous. I just hope Kakashi beats the crap out of him._

_Now on to a new chapter of Cursed Eyes_

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Birth of a prodigy**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

Five more months passed in a blur to Naruto and Kakashi as the blonde's training escalated in level of both hardship and skill. Needless to say, his weights more than doubled as well as the repetitions required by Kakashi in order to complete the exercise. And as usual, in every physical exercise, by orders from his sensei, Naruto would keep his Sharingan active at all times.

This way the blond not only improved his muscles, but also his already considerable chakra control as constantly doing the tree walking exercise could only help him improve so much. Kakashi chose not to teach Naruto the water walking exercise yet. He would wait until he started grilling the blonde in ninjutsu. Regarding the art in question, Naruto already proved to his sensei that he was ready to be taught the art of fire manipulation as it happened to be the blonde's affinity.

Usually Kakashi wouldn't be surprised because fire type chakra seemed to run inside every Uchiha's chakra coils. But Naruto wasn't an Uchiha, at least not by birth. The Jounin only reasoned that since Sasuke's DNA mingled with the blonde's than Naruto now possessed a fire affinity as well. Another extraordinary feat was his Sharingan. Seeing that the eye evolved to the second stage a couple days ago, increasing both his taijutsu style and his speed. Right now, the Sharingan users were sparring and Kakashi, this time, wasn't slowing his movements. At least, not like he was before, anyway. His speed was adequate to keep up with a low-level chunin, but he held back a little regarding the strength behind his punches. Nevertheless, he was impressed with his student as Naruto always managed to be one step ahead of his strikes. If he didn't out right dodge he was managing to block almost all Kakashi's strikes.

Just as Naruto blocked a high kick from Kakashi, he aimed a kick of his own at his sensei's legs. However, the man simply back-flipped a couple times and threw some shuriken at Naruto. Kakashi was already expecting the blonde to dodge so that he could charge and attack when he least expected. Instead Naruto just let the shuriken hit him. His body was replaced with a log. That movement alone made Kakashi smile and focus his attention to see where Naruto would come from. Suddenly a hand came from the ground fast and grabbed his ankle, surprising Kakashi.

_**Doton Shinjuu Zanchu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Groundhog Decapitation Jutsu)**_

As Kakashi went inside the ground until only his head remained above the surface, Naruto showed up with a grin on his face. The jounin was surprised that Naruto managed to copy this low-level doton jutsu from seeing Kakashi using it. But what surprised him more was the flawless execution of the technique. A feat that only those with a doton affinity managed to execute.

Naruto, however, frowned as Kakashi never stopped smiling at him, meaning that something was wrong with this picture.

"Good job Naruto. You kind of surprised me with the jutsu. However..."

Suddenly, the voice came from behind followed by a kunai being placed right below Naruto's chin.

"Don't simply expect that a jounin would fall for such a simple technique"

Seeing that his plan backfired, Naruto didn't have a choice but to give up seeing as Kakashi already won the match. However, he knew that his sensei didn't know about the doton jutsu and he managed to surprise Kakashi a great deal. The man for his part kept the kunai inside his holster and picked two chakra papers this time before handling both to the blonde.

"I was trying to think why your doton affinity didn't appear last time we checked your affinity, but now I realize why. When your affinity is fire, the entire paper burns and when your affinity is earth then the entire paper crumbles into dust. So in other words, one paper wouldn't be able to show both affinities. Now, focus chakra on both papers and let's confirm your affinities."

The result were as Kakashi predicted, seeing that the paper held by Naruto's right hand was on fire and the one on the left crumbled into dust. Seeing the predicament he was now in the sensei considered what he would choose to teach the blonde. Both natures weren't hard to learn, but fire jutsus had to be practiced with care. The silver haired jounin lost count of how many unfortunate shinobi had to retire, because of badly executing fire jutsus. Cases like burning lungs and severe sore throats were only a few of the problems and he didn't want Naruto to practice on his own. Thus he chose doton to teach the boy.

Also since Naruto learned this one jutsu on his own, Kakashi figured that Naruto already knew how to use earth based jutsus with efficiency.

Looking at his student, Kakashi saw that he was waiting for some kind of explanation, but first he needed to reach a second level of chakra control before beginning fire manipulation.

"Okay Naruto, I'll teach you some fire jutsus but for now we'll focus on more chakra control as well as cover some theory about fire manipulation. It's important for you in the long-run to control the exact amount needed to produce a fire technique. You don't know the implications of a jutsu blowing on your face..."

The look of the blonde's face told him different as a sudden realization hit Kakashi. The very reason that Naruto had the Sharingan was because he was hit by a fire jutsu courtesy of Itachi causing him to lose his original set of cerulean blue eyes in the process.

"Ok so you do know, sorry about that. What I meant is if you don't have a good grasp of chakra control there will be a high chance that you either burn your lungs or your throat which would end your ninja career immediately. So I will teach you an exercise called water walking and the principle is similar to the tree walking, but a little different. It's like this..."

* * *

**===At Konoha===**

Sarutobi Hiruzen was inside his office, checking the never-ending pile of mission reports just like any Kage did before him. Today was considered a normal day for the 'Professor' as he gathered all D and low-C ranked mission reports and stamped his signature repeatedly, without even bothering to read them. These types of mission didn't require his attention apart from those that the chuunin responsible placed in a separate pile. This kept Sarutobi from having to check every damn report before giving his signature. After his secretary took the whole lot, she left a cup of warm tea in front of the aged Hokage to which he appreciated and bid the lovely woman goodbye for the day.

A cup of tea meant one of his much deserved breaks throughout the day, not only because of his duty but also because of his old age. Taking his time to smell the delightful herb's scent, Hiruzen took a nice sip of the warm liquid as he looked at the village he was responsible for through his office window. The kids were playing like they were supposed to do. Anbu were patrolling the village. Everything was like it should be, in the Hokage's opinion. However, for no reason whatsoever, the image of Naruto appeared in front of him and it was showing that old goofy smile of his, screaming to everyone that he would take the Hokage's hat and replace the old man as he used to call Hiruzen. After a while, a new image of Naruto appeared in his mind and this time, it was the current Naruto after the tragic events surrounding the deceased Uchiha Clan.

Sarutobi, so far, wasn't able to swallow the recent turn of events and Naruto's sudden quiet demeanor. As you grow old, there were only a handful of occasions that manage to fill the heart with joy and it pained Sarutobi to realize that the Naruto he knew back then probably was killed along with the Uchiha Clan. Of course, the Hokage blamed himself for such a predicament.

In Naruto's position, being at the wrong place at the wrong time almost cost him his life, but the aged Hokage always thought he could've done something to avoid this tragic event. If he had managed to maintain some level of diplomacy with the Uchiha Clan, he would have been able to reach a compromise meaning none of this would have happened. Also, he supposed Naruto deserved better than having to fetch food by himself by looking in the garbage. Had his fridge remained full, the blond wouldn't feel the need to search for food, thus he wouldn't be close to the Uchiha Clan compound at the night of Itachi's assault.

Nevertheless, dwindling on the past wouldn't solve the issue. No matter what happened, nothing would be able to reverse time and salvage the blond from suffering the agonizing pain of witnessing firsthand the brutal massacre of one of the strongest clans in Konoha. The least Sarutobi could do was to dissuade the council from pressing the manner further, seeing as Naruto's presence inside the compound raised some unwanted questions. In this department, though, Sarutobi had enough skills both as a respectful shinobi and as a politician to relay the true story of what happened, therefore discharging the blonde from any misjudged accusations. Problem was that, as he feared it would happen, Sarutobi was forced to reveal Naruto's new possession the Sharingan.

At the time he saw the faces of shock displayed by his council members and the clan chiefs as they all thought the bloodline was extinguished with Itachi being the only one left. It took a long time of discussions and medical reports, but in the end, the entire council was convinced that while Naruto could use the Sharingan to its full capacity, there wasn't any cientifical proof that the blond would be able to pass the Uchiha DNA to his offspring. This was upsetting to a few members especially to the old war hawk Danzou as this happened to be his idea at the time. With said issue being declared impossible by the council, Sarutobi turned to more pressing matters like the boy's training mission under Hatake Kakashi and the constant improvements proven by Kakashi's written reports.

Obviously, Danzou showed his claws once more, trying to convince the council that the boy was to be trained by him in order to reach his fullest capacity. However the entire council knew of Danzou's old (to some, still current) training methods and voted against it. All were in favor of Hatake Kakashi training the boy as he happened to be an elite jounin and also possessor of the Sharingan eye. After that, there wasn't much to be discussed so Sarutobi closed the meeting, appreciating the ones present.

This happened a month ago and since then, the subject of Naruto was rarely discussed between the Hokage and his advisors except when it was regarding any new skill the boy learned under Kakashi's guidance. Some clan heads were interested in the boy's development, like Hyuuga Hiashi, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Inoichi and Tsume Inuzuka. All four of them knew how arrogant the Uchihas turned out to be in time and they worried that Naruto would display similar behavior. Hiruzen explained to them that there was little chance of someone liked Naruto becoming arrogant. It simply wasn't in his nature to be consumed or blinded by power. At first the clan heads were skeptical, seeing as none of them had knowledge of any Uchiha displaying lessons of humility, but the Hokage chose to relay to them Naruto's constant conversations with Kakashi about what happened at the Uchiha massacre and his desire to train harder in order to protect what's sacred to him.

Since then no one bothered him anymore about Naruto and the Hokage smiled knowing that with the blonde out of the village, he managed to handle the situation with ease and convince the council that there was little ground for worry.

Back to the present, as the herbal tea was almost finished a little plume smoke appeared on his desk before Kakashi's personal dog summon Pakkun appeared holding a scroll in his mouth.

"Ah Pakkun, I'm glad Kakashi isn't tardy when it comes to sending the reports. How is Naruto doing these days?"

As the dog released the scroll from his mouth, he explained that everything was written on the scroll and that he had little to no interaction with the blonde to know anything about his training. Of course, Sarutobi knew that and yet every time he asked the same thing to the dog, but his intention was merely to start any possible conversation. He dismissed Pakkun, before opening the scroll to read its contents.

According to Kakashi, Naruto met both his and the Hokage's expectations as he evolved the Sharingan to the second level. His taijutsu was improving exponentially as well as both his muscularity and agility. Sarutobi knew and favored Kakashi's harsh training method, considering that Naruto would need to be prepared for what lay ahead in the future. But what shocked him the most was Kakashi's surprised statement saying that Naruto didn't have only fire affinity like previously stated, but also a secondary earth affinity. It wasn't strange to see shinobi possessing more than one affinity, but Naruto will be ten years old in a couple months and certainly only a few like Kakashi himself and Itachi displayed such level of ninjutsu skills by the age of nine.

Sarutobi knew the implications of comparing Naruto with Itachi as young prodigies were frowned upon by the villagers and shinobi of Konoha.

Nevertheless, by Kakashi's report, Naruto could very well learn fire jutsus by the time he came back and it wouldn't be much harder to know a few earth based jutsus, meaning that Naruto could very well be considered a prodigy by the Hokage's standards. Another fact was that Kakashi managed to drill in the blonde's head the importance of the Sharingan being considered a mere tool to be used and not to become dependent on it. Right now, Kakashi was teaching Naruto some heavy chakra control exercises as he didn't want Naruto's fire jutsus to hurt his organs.

This was an intelligent precaution in Hiruzen's opinion, considering the number of accidents caused by failed attempts in the past. All in all Naruto was training to become a well-rounded individual as all arts were covered in Kakashi's training. Genjutsu, while being the less trained, was also covered by Kakashi as he taught the blond how to dispel them effectively. Not to mention that the blond could very well learn some kenjutsu as well if Kakashi agreed to teach him in the future.

_Kakashi must be excited to teach Naruto as much as possible and Naruto doesn't complain, absorbing all this knowledge like a sponge. Surely, I'll expect great things from you Naruto-kun._

Back to his work, Sarutobi started to read the A and B mission level reports with a smile on his face as he was imagining the blonde in a couple of years as a shinobi of the Leaf.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

At the end of the day, Naruto was soaked. Unlike the tree walking exercise, he couldn't escape from falling in the river every time he couldn't get the exercise right. And the fact that Kakashi was finding his numerous attempts humorous didn't help matters. Naruto could see that his sensei was controlling himself not to hold his stomach from laughing so hard. Problem was that chakra control exercises required both concentration and patience and somehow, the blond was lacking both as his mind was running a mile a minute. Thoughts about ninjutsu, taijutsu, Uchiha massacre, Sasuke's memories, his memories, genjutsu dispelling…all this information was fighting for dominance inside his mind and he couldn't bring himself to concentrate.

Lack of patience was obvious as at the same time he thought about everything, he also wished to finish this god damn exercise.

Kakashi knew of his problems right now, but considering the number of accomplishments in the last two months he figured that Naruto shouldn't rush into things and learn how to focus on the task in hand. After a few more failed attempts, the silver haired jounin looked to the sky and realized that the sun was already setting and the moon was already up, meaning that the exercise was finished for today.

"Okay Naruto, let's wrap it up for today. Tomorrow will be another day for you to try to complete this exercise." Kakashi said, earning a nod from the blonde as he got out of the water and picked up his clothes. Student and sensei went back to their cottage together. On the way, though, Naruto kept cursing himself for not being able to complete the exercise. Kakashi tried to explain that this method is taught to genins and above for better improving chakra control. For Naruto to manage in one day would be counter-productive to his training as he wouldn't take full advantage of it. It was better to learn at a slow pace then rush it and not fully improve his chakra control.

"I know Kakashi-sensei. I was just over-whelmed a bit. I'll try and relax some…what's for dinner tonight?" Naruto asked before he sighed upon seeing a couple of vegetables near his sensei. Those, in his experience, would certainly be used for a stew that Kakashi learned to make.

"You know better than to ask questions all the time, Naruto. Now why don't you grab some water as I prepare the vegetables?"

As Naruto grabbed some water, the stew was prepared as both student and sensei ate their dish in comfortable silence. It wasn't long before the dish was separated and the two got inside the respectful sleeping bags.

* * *

**===Next day===**

As the sun rose on the horizon, Naruto and Kakashi were already up and the blonde was going through some warming up exercises around the clearing. The jounin, though, focused solely on reading his favorite book as Naruto now finished his required ten laps around the vicinity, followed by some push-ups and sit-ups. After he finished, it was once more time to strip his clothes as he would be attempting the water walking exercise at the lake nearby. Naruto nodded and went straight to the lake, while considering the last failed attempts. He knew that with the damn weights on his body the entire time, he would never finish the exercise.

"I suppose that if I could drop the weights, I'd be able to finish the exercise much sooner."

Kakashi's smile told him the answer he was already expecting, but no one could say he didn't try. As he ran towards the lake ahead of Kakashi, the man considered reminding the blonde not to use the Sharingan, before he grinned once he heard his student's silent mumbles and considerable list of curses to his slave driver sensei.

As Naruto neared the river margin, he took one step at a time as the water level reached his knees, just like every attempt before. Yesterday, he didn't consider at least standing on top of the water before walking as he was lacking the needed patience and concentration to break the exercise. Immediately focusing chakra to his feet, Naruto slowly started to flow almost on top of the water, before he had to relinquish control over it. Kakashi saw this and frowned, even though Naruto understood the importance of walking before running.

"Naruto, I can see you learned what you need to attain first and that's good. However you're doing it the wrong way. You can't just increase the chakra amount and expect it to flow on its own. You have to learn the appropriate amount of chakra needed to step on the water. Then you have to hold that same amount of chakra as you walk on top of the water. Try using a specific amount of chakra to stand on top of the water. If it's not enough, try again increasing the chakra. If it's less than required, do the opposite. Once you learn how much chakra is needed to maintain afloat, you have to memorize the amount as you start walking. Why don't you try again?"

Naruto accepted the teaching and tried just as Kakashi advised him. This time Naruto managed to reach the ankle's region, before he started to sink. Within thirty minutes, the blonde was already able to at least stand on water as he closed his eyes. Memorizing the needed chakra was a tough procedure and he needed time to focus on exactly how much was being used at the moment so that he could start the water walking exercise. Kakashi would remain there patiently as he watched Naruto concentrate. He knew the blond would manage the exercise in time. He only needed to process the information.

Suddenly, Kakashi felt the need to turn his attention from his book as he had a feeling that the next attempt would prove fruitful. True to his instincts, the blonde opened his eyes and focused on maintaining the necessary chakra amount as he started walking on top of the water the same way he would walk on solid ground, albeit a bit slower like Kakashi advised. Within time, Naruto increased his steps and after a couple of minutes focusing on chakra control, the blonde was getting the hang of the exercise, much to Kakashi's satisfied grin as Naruto took his explanation to heart and applied it accordingly.

"Okay Naruto, keep walking until you feel able to run. I want you to focus on this until lunch time. After we eat, I'll give a crash course of fire manipulation and even teach you a low-level fire jutsu. Now after you're done here meet me near the cottage. I'll be responsible for preparing lunch as a reward for you finishing this exercise. But tonight is your time to cook and wash the dishes."

After their stomachs were satisfied, Kakashi and Naruto now stood in front of the lake as Kakashi would be teaching Naruto fire manipulation. The theory was pretty much covered by understanding the fusion between chakra and gathering air inside the lungs. The air will serve as ignition for the fire to accumulate at the throat, before the technique is to be released towards a certain target. The only problem was accumulating the fire inside Naruto's throat for a while as this happened to be the part where most shinobi failed in learning the art of fire manipulation, burning their throats beyond salvation.

"Okay Naruto, you learned about the procedure from the books and from what I explained. Now, you'll have to use your chakra more than ever as it will serve to protect your organs against the accumulated fire. There is one jutsu you'll learn for now and this happens to be the easiest jutsu to learn. Also, for the purpose of your safety you can use the Sharingan to copy both the hand seals and the chakra needed for this technique, now activate and pay attention."

Naruto only nodded as Kakashi started a sequence of four hand seals, finishing with the tiger seal as Naruto's Sharingan suddenly gave him the image of chakra being gathered at Kakashi's lungs, before growing to his throat. Kakashi then positioned his right hand in front of his mouth to direct the fire technique.

_**Katon Endan **__(Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu)_

The blonde could only see a considerable fireball emerged from Kakashi's mouth as it maintained hovering atop the small river.

The temperature was unnaturally hot as Kakashi explained it was being increased by chakra. The technique went on for a while, before Kakashi stopped and the temperature fell back to normal.

"By now I believe the information gathered by your Sharingan is enough for you to perform this technique. So go right ahead and try."

He understood the consequences of the fire technique backfiring. It sure left a scar, though it didn't show in the mirror. The memory of Itachi's fire attack that night played in his mind consecutive times as he actually believed it would be the last image he would ever see if he didn't have this new set of eyes. And to believe it could happen again, Naruto was reluctant to try as he continued to stare at the river in front of him. Kakashi knew what his student was thinking at the moment, but Naruto needed to forget about that if he wanted to be a master at using fire techniques.

Suddenly he gathered his resolve and closed his eyes in concentration as he focused on the information gathered by the Sharingan regarding the fireball technique. Kakashi watched closely as the blonde's hands began to gather together to form the first hand seal. The jounin actually expected Naruto to stop the hand seals because of what happened in the past, but he continued now reaching the third hand seal. By this time, Naruto must be fusing chakra with the air inside his lungs, thus igniting a fire induced chakra. Finally the tiger seal was formed. As the blonde positioned his hand in front of his mouth, he exhaled a thin layer of white fire, before the thin layer expanded just like Kakashi's technique. Maintaining the technique for a while, he turned his eyes to see a smiling Kakashi which always meant a job well done.

"Nice job, Naruto. Now, I know your throat is hurting at the moment but you'll get used to in the future. Now practice the technique without the Sharingan. When I feel you're adequate with the technique I'll teach you another." Kakashi said as he suddenly grabbed his orange book and started reading as Naruto repeated the technique time and time again.

* * *

**===At Konoha===**

Hiruzen Sarutobi was considered a patient man. Day in and day night, though, he was considering slicing the throats of every member of the council as right now they were bickering about the discovery of Naruto's second affinity before he even graduated the academy. He considered holding the information for a while, but he in the end decided to show it to the council…big mistake!

Some of them demanded the boy needed to be executed from fear that he had too much power and could eventually turn against the village. Of course, this came from a lone civilian member, but the idea was discarded by the War Hawk Danzou, before he offered the stupid idea that Naruto needed to be tutored by him, instead of Kakashi. Although this idea was already vetoed by this very council, Danzou still wanted to pressure this topic much to Sarutobi Hiruzen's agonizing headache.

"For the last time Danzou, Naruto's training won't be transferred to you nor will he be at any point in the future. Now, I just called this meeting to inform you all about his development, that's all. Now, this meeting has ended. Shikaku, Hiashi, please follow me to my office, I wish to talk to you two."

* * *

=**==At the Hokage's Office===**

Once the Hokage took a sit behind his office, he started addressing a matter of great concern to his now most trusted individuals.

"I'm worried about Danzou and his never-ending interest in Naruto. I fear that he may use his Root ninja for something I dare not mention out loud"

Both Hiashi and Shikaku narrowed their eyes at this as Danzou was a threat no matter which side he was on. It was Hiashi who spoke first.

"I happen to share your concern as well, Hokage-sama. If you so wish, I could choose a group from my clan to keep close watch with Kakashi, just in case he decides to step out of the shadows."

Hiruzen was considering the offer, but an entire group may prove suspicious and Danzou might use his political influence in the council to cause trouble.

"No, he could be up to anything given the circumstances and I don't want to give him more ammunition. Perhaps it would be wiser to select one member from your clan Hiashi to watch for any of Danzou's Root Anbu. I wonder if Kasumi is available for such a task."

"She is Hokage-sama. I'll tell her to come here right away." Hiashi said, as he reached for the Anbu was in charge of protecting the Hokage in order to call Hyuuga Kasumi, while Shikaku remained talking to the Hokage. The man thought he was there for no reason as he kept hearing Hiruzen and Hiashi's conversation regarding Hyuuga Kasumi's new guardian mission.

"Shikaku, while Hiashi calls Kasumi I'll ask something of you as well. You're one of the brightest minds this village has ever produced and as such, I wish for you to keep your eyes on Danzou."

The man had the decency to look at Hiruzen with incredulity. Sure, it wasn't impossible as the lazy genius had already managed to spy on important Daimyos in the past, but surely for Hiruzen to ask this of him meant that either he wanted to silence Danzou for good or expose him and his undercover Roots Anbu program. Nevertheless, this request had its merit. After all a Hokage couldn't have someone by his side controlling the turn of events from the shadows. The Nara wouldn't be surprised if Danzou was behind some of the major murder events in the history of Fire Country now that he thought about it.

Hiruzen was watching the lazy genius with patience as he knew the seriousness of this mission. Spying one of the most influential individuals in Fire Country, a part from the Hokage and the Fire Lord, was dangerous and could even lead to the man's death, if he managed to dig deep enough.

"Shikaku, I understand if you're reluctant to…" Hiruzen said, but Shikaku interrupted him.

"I'll accept the mission Hokage-sama. Danzou's acts have remained to go on for far too long. Now, is there anything you wish me to focus on?"

Hiruzen smiled, before explaining the details behind this SS-class mission.

* * *

**===Two days later===**

_**Katon Dai Endan**__ (Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu)_

The now doubled in sized fireball emerged from Naruto's mouth, before it hovered atop the river. The fire was so hot that it increased the speed in which the water was evaporated. When the water level pretty much reduced to half, Naruto relinquished the control over his technique before looking to Kakashi. In two days, Naruto did nothing more than practice his two fire jutsus, much to Kakashi's approval as he envisioned great things going on for Naruto in the future.

"Okay Naruto, for now we'll remain with these two techniques as I believe it will be enough for you to learn how to use fire techniques appropriately. Now, deactivate your Sharingan and come at me with the intent to kill."

Naruto happily obliged as he charged at the jounin with a roundhouse kick. He saw Kakashi lifting his right arm to block the incoming kick. Naruto suddenly flipped in mid-air, switching both his legs and the side of the attack. Kakashi was surprised, but he quickly recovered and managed to evade the kick before it connected. Naruto used the flight momentum and flipped, before stepping on the ground. He threw four shuriken at Kakashi, but all four of the projectiles were imbedded on the tree as Kakashi evaded them all by jumping to the right. Naruto had been counting on Kakashi doing so as he made some hand seals before exhaling a regular fireball jutsu straight towards Kakashi's future position, forcing Kakashi to create a water barrier around him for protection.

Of course, he could have simply dodged and conserve chakra, but Kakashi felt that showing Naruto how to utilize jutsu for defense as well as attack would serve him well in the future. Naruto learned that his sensei's vision was obscured by the water around him, so Naruto charged Kakashi until he landed a solid punch to Kakashi's face. The problem was that in Kakashi's place was a log. Naruto turned to his right, only to receive a strong kick on his face which sent him flying towards the river.

Controlling some chakra to his feet, Naruto just skidded along the water until he stopped near the margin. He slowly wiped some blood from his mouth while watching for Kakashi. Suddenly, Kakashi started some hand seals and, quite to Naruto's horror, finished with the tiger hand seal, before gathering a great deal of air inside his lungs

_**Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu**__ (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Jutsu)_

Naruto could only watch as the fireball kept increasing in size until it was easily twice as strong as the Great Fireball technique. Suddenly activating his Sharingan, Naruto saw the ball of doom charging at him slowly. He focused chakra to his feet and jumped away from the attack as it hit a tree behind the blonde, pretty much destroying the entire area. Even though Naruto managed to dodge, he couldn't help but witness the scene of destruction that a strong fire technique could cause. He landed on the ground once more and saw that the fire was spreading to the other trees as not only the wind but also the wood increased the fire's destruction.

Kakashi landed near him as he suddenly did a large series of hand seals. Naruto sensed the chakra molding and looked to Kakashi with his Sharingan active. The information was transferred instantly, just as Kakashi finished with the bird hand seal.

_**Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu)**_

The remaining water of the river transformed into a fierce creature of water as it charged towards the fire in order to extinguish it. The effect was instantaneous as water chakra dominated fire chakra, thus saving the forest from being burned to a crisp.

"I take it you wish to talk about something, Naruto…" Kakashi said, awakening the blonde from his daydream.

Naruto looked at him for a while, before looking at the forest in front of him now covered in smoke.

"I was just imagining what would happen if I was hit with that technique instead of the forest. I'd be dead easily…"

"Indeed, you would. But I knew you'd do the right thing. You activated your Sharingan in order to dodge the technique. In case you didn't, I'd stop the technique right away before it ever reached you. Another thing, while I know you copied the water technique I just did I don't want you trying it any time soon. You just don't have the chakra for it yet. For now let's remain with the techniques you just learned and tonight I'll give you a scroll on some earth techniques for you to learn in your own free time."

The blonde nodded before both returned to the place they were sleeping only to see a woman there wearing black cargo Anbu pants and a jounin jacket as she stood there with her arms crossed with a bored expression on her face. She had black hair which happened to be tied up in a pony tail, thus showing her Hyuuga like eyes. While her body language was calm the woman's expression told Naruto otherwise as he could suddenly feel a bad tension arriving.

"Good evening Kasumi. I'm surprised to see you here of all places. Last time, we saw each other was at the Anbu corps"

"Can I talk to you in private, Kakashi?"

Her voice was clear, meaning she wasn't the type to sugarcoat things at least in Naruto's opinion as he saw Kakashi following the Hyuuga. Deciding that whatever the woman needed with the jounin wasn't his business, he went inside the cabin as some relaxation was in order. Once alone, Kasumi and Kakashi looked at each other. The man was waiting for a slap to come, but none came much to his surprise as Kasumi just stood there glaring daggers at him presumably from what he did to her at the time they were a part of the Anbu force. Suddenly he heard a sigh escaping from her as she started talking.

"Okay as much as I protested to Hiashi-sama, I'm stuck with you in order to protect Naruto-kun."

Kakashi always knew Kasumi wasn't very talkative, rather preferring to get right to the point, but she wasn't finished.

"Hokage-sama felt that Danzou might want something with Naruto and he assigned me to aid you in protecting the boy for reasons that seems strange to me considering no one would attack you but here I am." Kasumi said, earning a nod from Kakashi as he was already informed of her presence from the Hokage. In the scroll, Hiruzen alerted him of Danzou's never ending interest in Naruto's training and that he may resort to kidnapping the blonde. Kasumi's presence here meant that her Byakugan would be more than enough to alert them of any intrusions in the vicinity. Plus Kakashi considered it would be nice for Naruto to practice his skills against the Byakugan and the Jyuuken as it happened to be the most deadly taijutsu style in existence.

Even though he knew she was coming, it didn't mean he liked it as both had their fair share of history in the past. Kakashi at the time was already an Anbu captain and to him, nothing mattered other than the safety of his team and the mission's completion. However over time he met Kasumi and the two started hanging out together. Afraid of her being killed because of being with him, Kakashi ended their relationship. Everyone important in his life had been killed and he couldn't bear to lose someone else precious to him. But the woman didn't take it that well. Needless to say, she was very irritated at Kakashi and hadn't spoken to him since he blew her off without any proper explanation.

"So tell me Kakashi…since I'm stuck with you until Naruto-kun returns to the village, why don't you tell me something about his skills and what can I do to help him improve. People are talking about this boy and I want to know some more about what he can do."

"Needless to say the boy is a prodigy. Taijutsu is high genin level and ninjutsu is off the charts for even a low-level chunnin. He's already improved a lot, but you'd be able to increase his taijutsu skills greatly, considering that you're a master in the area."

Kakashi and Kasumi talked a lot about the blonde's skills, thus starting a conversation for the first time in almost ten years.

* * *

**Author Note**

_Okay, that's it for now. _

_Who is Kasumi and what will happen with her and Kakashi as her feelings for him never ended, despite being blown often years ago. Oh and just for some who's thinking…Kasumi is not the OC I was talking about. My creation will only appear when Naruto becomes a chunnin._

_Also next chapter, Naruto will return from his training trip. _

_How will his classmates react to his presence as the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre was made public to every villager in Konoha? Also, what about the general population, will they loath him even more or accept the truth of what happened, considering that Naruto was just there searching for food? All these questions will be answered next chapter. _

_A special thanks to Kyuubi123 for accepting the position as my new beta reader._

_Take care and please tell me what you think._


	5. Unexpected Return

**Author Note**

You know, for quite some time now, I've been complaining about a lot of Kishimoto's choices regarding the Naruto universe. And while some of them I still do, like Naruto's skills for example (or lack thereof), to others, I've come with a realization. In the fan fiction world, it's our main concern, once reading the story, to ask about whom Naruto would be paired with. Apparently, though, it isn't the creator's concern since the only 'couple' so far created by the man was Jiraiya and Tsunade and that wasn't really a couple.

He only placed Tsunade doubting over her feelings for the pervert sannin.

Perhaps, it's his way to focus on one thing at a time or perhaps it's something he'd only care for at the last episode.

So, in figuring this out, I kind of understand the fact that he didn't do anything regarding Hinata's love confession to Naruto, although certainly I'd do things differently. Maybe, he can create a new time frame where everyone is already jounin and then and only then can he focus on matters such as pairing them up. Until then, I believe it will take a while for it to happen, if ever happens, of course.

Now, here's another chapter of Cursed Eyes.

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Unexpected Return**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

As the end of the Naruto's training year approached, both Kakashi and Kasumi could see how skilled Naruto had become since he received the Sharingan eyes.

Just as Kakashi said, Kasumi helped Naruto on his taijutsu style, the interception fist, teaching how to further improve the blonde's anticipation of the opponent's attacks by trusting more on his instincts rather than only on his doujutsu. At first, Naruto didn't quite understand but as the Hyuuga sparred against him without the Sharingan, it became easy. Plus, with Kakashi constantly reminding him that training without the Sharingan is just as important as training with it.

Regarding ninjutsu, Kakashi chose to stop teaching him more fire techniques.

He focused on some defensive doton techniques like the **Doton Doryuuheki** (Earth Release: Mud Wall Jutsu) and **Doton Doryuu Jouheki** (Earth Release: Earth Rampart Jutsu), which Naruto didn't need much time learning seeing as earth was his second affinity, much to Kasumi's surprise when she found out, seeing as the boy hadn't even graduated from the academy yet. Still, with the taijutsu display alone, Kasumi would give Naruto at least a high genin rank. Just the fact that Kakashi was already teaching Naruto some kenjutsu moves was astonishing enough and she stopped being surprised after one week of being with the brat, as she constantly referred to him as.

Because of Kasumi's nature, she and Naruto quickly bonded and she saw him as a pestering little brother. She called him brat all the time, though, but that was only to get a rise out of the usually stoic little guy. Kasumi was one strange Hyuuga, in Naruto's opinion. He learned straight from the horse's mouth, that the Hyuuga clan was filled with arrogant individuals who constantly believed in their superiority. However Kasumi exuded an aura of aggressiveness and Naruto found that he respected her individuality.

After all, amongst a gathering of arrogant fools, there must be one to salvage the clan.

One interesting aspect Naruto realized was the constant tension whenever Kasumi and Kakashi started a conversation with each other. He knew those two have a past together, although niether of them wished to talk about it, even after Naruto asked a couple of times. Not one to pry, though, he forgot all about it and focused only on getting stronger under the two's supervision.

Right now, Naruto was attempting a new fire jutsu he read about it in Kakashi's book.

At first, the scarecrow jounin was against it seeing as it was his intention to only teach Naruto a couple of C-ranked fire techniques for better protection, but this one was considered a B-ranked technique whose only purpose was for killing or least permanently crippling an opponent. Its name was **Katon Kaenhoushaki **(Fire Release: Flame Thrower Jutsu) and while it was less powerful than Konoha's strongest fire technique, Kakashi didn't want to teach Naruto the technique. It didn't mean that Naruto couldn't learn it on his own, just as he learned the earth based jutsus.

The technique was dangerous, that much he was aware of. Exhaling a constant flare of fire could permanently burn the user's throat up to the point of never recovering. So, Naruto had to tamper with the fire with caution while inside his body, so as not to cause damage. Going through the sequence of ten hand seals, Naruto inhaled a great load of air inside his lungs, before combusting it with his chakra.

As soon as the layer of fire escaped from his mouth, he positioned his right hand to guide the attack towards a certain point.

Both Kakashi and Kasumi were supervising the technique as they saw the giant rock being hit, followed by explosions one after the other as Naruto continued exhaling the layer of fire. Soon, the rock was no more, just as Naruto ended the technique. However the blond was coughing smoke, quite to Kakashi's shock, but he immediately handed Naruto a glass of water to drink.

Kasumi was by his side as well, as she scanned Naruto's throat for any damage.

"Don't worry Kakashi, he's fine."

Kakashi nodded, before taking Naruto inside the cottage. Before this technique, Naruto practiced taijutsu and heavy chakra control, so he was unconscious soon after the technique's completion. After Kakashi placed Naruto inside his bed, he got up and left the cottage to where Kasumi was waiting him. Only four days separated the group from returning to Konoha and Kakashi remembered one single attempt on his life.

**Flashback on**

One day when Naruto was beaten after almost ten hours of training non-stop, Kakashi placed him on his bed and left to fix dinner for him and Kasumi. The winds were increasing and very soon, a heavy rain began to fall as thunder could be heard on the horizon. As the scarecrow jounin started preparing his all time favorite stew, he was looking at the Hyuuga out the side of his eye. Ever since she arrived, the girl wanted nothing more than talk to Kakashi about what happened in the past, but every time something came up and he managed to avoid the subject.

Kasumi, for her part, was frustrated with Kakashi's uncanny ability of changing the subject.

During their bickering, Kasumi deactivated her Byakugan that so far was active to spot any intruder and stop him before he could kill Naruto. It was because of this, that one shadow managed to pass undetected from the two as he entered the cottage. No headband on his forehead meant he was either a civilian or a mercenary. His body was athletic and every article of clothing he wore managed to mingle his presence within the night. Plus any little noise he made was hidden by the constant sound of lightning.

When Kasumi activated her Byakugan once more, she was startled to see another presence inside the cottage besides Naruto, before alerting Kakashi.

He shunshined immediately inside the cottage to prevent whoever it was from killing Naruto, but once he appeared inside, he saw the man. His face indicated that something very bad happened as his mouth was opened in shock and his eye sockets were empty. The body suddenly fell forward and Kakashi saw three tome Sharingan staring at him with a bloodied kunai on Naruto's hand. Kakashi knew the step needed to awake the third step of the Sharingan eyes, which by the way, was similar to actually awakening it in the first place, being in life or death situation.

This wasn't the only feat Naruto accomplished as the man's body on the floor indicated something the Sandaime Hokage feared could happen to someone so young.

At ten years old, Naruto already killed someone and Kakashi could see in those bloody red Sharingan eyes, tears falling on the ground as the realization of killing someone hit him full force. By this time, Kasumi was already by his side, embracing him in a comforting hug. She was responsible for this happening as it was her mission to protect Naruto at all costs from whoever came to harm him.

It took a few more minutes for Naruto's sobbing to end as he fell asleep on Kasumi's shoulder.

Both the attempt on Naruto's life and the boy's fully evolving his Sharingan were reported immediately to the Hokage who was very upset at the situation. Someone from within Konoha's walls hired some mercenary to deal with the Kyuubi brat once and for all. Of course, Hiruzen was unaware of how the mercenary managed to pass by both Kakashi and Kasumi, since the official report indicated a heavy usage of genjutsu that managed to fool the Hyuuga's Byakugan.

Sure, Kasumi expected to be demoted for her incompetence, but when Kakashi told her what he did, she felt like she deserved every type of punishment from not protecting her surrogate brother like she should have. Of course, this feeling had both professional and personal reasons, but Kasumi grew so attached to Naruto, that her self-loathing was more personal than professional.

Kakashi convinced her that their priority right now was to talk to Naruto regarding his first kill.

Luckily, Naruto trusted them both to share his thoughts of what happened, so Kakashi and Kasumi managed to save his mind from dealing with more pain than he already dealt with every day.

**Flashback off**

As soon as Kakashi arrived near Kasumi, he could see that her Byakugan was active the entire time as she cooked their meal.

Her face was purely professional and that wasn't a good thing. The downside of having a doujutsu was that keeping it active for longer periods of time not only wasted too much of the user's chakra, but could also over-strain the eyes. It was possible for the user to go blind and for a Hyuuga, not being able to rely on the eyes was considered worse than death.

But Kakashi knew the reason behind Kasumi's drive.

"You can't keep blaming yourself for what happened Kasumi. You're not the only one here who was supposed to take care of him."

She turned her eyes a little bit to look at him, before she went back to the task at hand.

"Why not?! It was a miracle that Naruto-kun was awake that time or else the assassin would have fulfilled his assignment." Kasumi said as she was spinning her chicken soup with a wooden spoon, but she didn't stop talking. "The worst part Kakashi was that we would not have even known what happened until we entered the cottage. I...I was so frustrated with you Kakashi that I relinquished all manner of professionalism. I did what no ninja should ever do. I let my emotions take me over in the middle of a mission, for Kami's sake."

Kakashi could see the tears falling in the soup as he grabbed Kasumi in a tight hug as he let the now fragile woman cry on his shoulders.

One of the reasons why Kakashi stopped doing missions with Kasumi was because of the past shared by them. He was able to let go of what happened and focus on the mission at hand, but she wasn't. The truth was that his feelings of her never diminished, even though it was ten years ago. But his fear that she would get killed because of him always stopped him from approaching her. It was finally time to ease Kasumi's heart with the truth, although he wasn't sure about the effect revealing the truth would cause.

"I'm sorry Kasumi..." Kakashi said, as she looked at him with teary eyes.

The silver haired jounin stopped for a while as he was suddenly lost inside those hollow eyes of the Hyuuga clan, but to him he could look at them for all eternity and not get tired of it.

Now, the feelings he fought so hard to suppress now came full force and he couldn't control it anymore.

"I suppose it would be selfish on my part to keep you in the dark all this time. Please know that I never stopped having feelings for you"

"...Don't play games with me Kakashi...please I can't bear..." Kasumi said, but stopped once Kakashi placed two fingers on her soft lips, ushering her to be quiet as he wasn't finished talking.

"What happened was that I was afraid...afraid to lose you." Kasumi looked at Kakashi with a guarded yet hopeful expression. She knew about his terrible past. She knew about his real father committing suicide after a failed mission. She knew that his teammate sacrificed his life to save his, hence how he got the Sharingan. She knew how his other teammate went missing in action and never returned and last but not least, she knew that he'd lost his surrogate father Yondaime Hokage to the Kyuubi no Yoko.

What Kakashi faced in life, Kasumi was sure she would lose her sanity if even half of it had happened to her. To her, the man was made of steel, unbreakable no matter what happened.

That's precisely why she was shocked once she saw tears falling from his eyes, not the only visible one, but his covered Sharingan eye as well.

As soon as she opened her mouth to speak, he beat her to it.

"I...I was afraid that you'd share the same fate as everyone precious to me and I just couldn't bear to lose another one."

Kasumi smiled for the first time in ages as the man in front of her cried on her shoulders. Like him, she never stopped having feelings for him and for the first time in ages, she was able to recognize the man behind the Anbu captain mask of Sharingan no Kakashi.

"...Ah...I'm not interrupting anything am I?" The voice alerted both as they turned to the sleepy Naruto. The chicken soup's aroma reached Naruto's nostrils as well and his stomach immediately roared like a ferocious lion. Kasumi and Kakashi smiled at the blond as both of them managed to wipe their tears before Naruto could see. Well, at least they hoped so.

"Sorry about interrupting, it's just that I woke up hungry and I sensed Kasumi-sensei's chicken soup." Naruto said as he grabbed an empty bowl and approached the fireplace, before placing three spoons of soup. The two grownups did the same and took a seat next to Naruto, before Kakashi initiated a conversation, probably in order to avoid the subject of what just happened.

"Say Naruto, in three days time your training will be over and we'll return to the village. Now, I remembered you weren't so thrilled a couple months ago. Want to talk about it?"

Kasumi looked at Naruto for a moment, while trying to gauge his thoughts.

She knew about the Kyuubi and how people looked at him as if he was the demon itself. Now, the people also knew the truth of how he got the Sharingan and she wouldn't be surprised if some, if not the majority, treated him even worse now. Nevertheless, she was confident Naruto could defend himself better than even a high level genin. He had a fully evolved doujutsu and techniques to keep anyone, at least below chunnin level, from attacking him. After all, it was because of this, that Sarutobi wanted him to be trained beforehand.

As the blond took a last sip of soup, he placed the wooden spoon on top of the soup and looked to the ground in deep thought.

"The feelings didn't change Sensei. With time, the nightmares about what happened at the Uchiha Massacre diminished, but they still haunt me in my sleep. Sometimes, I have the feeling that the damn fox is screwing with my head, making me see it over and over again. I know for a fact that the people's hatred towards me and the fox won't diminish and quite frankly, I have a feeling that it will only increase when people see me using the Sharingan."

Kakashi and Kasumi just listened as the young man spoke.

"To this day, all the threats remained verbal. The words hurt but not as much as kunai embedded in my back. Now, I don't know what will happen, because to some, I'm not only the Kyuubi reincarnated, but also the one responsible for the murder of the Uchiha Clan. It changes everything now, doesn't it?"

"There is nothing but truth in your words Naruto..." Kakashi said, as he could see Kasumi's saddened face. He could see that she wanted nothing more than to suffer in his stead. "However, you must face the fact that the past cannot be changed. I know that I may sound harsh right now as you're only ten, but the past cannot be changed no matter how much you shout to the heavens and curse the man who did this to you..."

Naruto looked at him in surprise, but he should have known that a jounin of Kakashi's caliber would hear his shouts.

"...I was just venting my frustration, that's all. But you're right Kakashi-sensei. It's time I stop dwindling in the past, it won't solve anything."

After that, the three went to their respective beds as they settled in to rest the next three days, before leaving to Konoha.

* * *

**===In Konoha===**

The next day, Sarutobi was meeting with Shikaku in order to see what the man had to present regarding Danzou's whereabouts.

He knew the elder Nara was the wisest choice for this mission. Having outstanding chakra control and with his knowledge of mingling with the shadows, one could only spot Shikaku if he allowed it to happen.

But Sarutobi knew Danzou wasn't someone to underestimate his opponent and certainly, Shikaku wouldn't be able to find his hideout. However, Shikaku brought some interesting facts. For some time, Danzou has been seen meeting with Anbu shinobi in secret places and Hiruzen was certain no Anbu under his authority was allowed to talk to the old war hawk. Also, Shikaku managed to pinpoint a specific area where Danzou headed to every day. Every reconnaissance mission issued by the Hokage to his Anbu force was futile as no one could find Danzou's hidden base.

At least, now it was easier since he could narrow the search area to the one pinpointed by Shikaku.

"I appreciate it Shikaku-san, surely your skills with the shadows proved sufficient to provide me with enough information to improve the searches for his hidden base. I apologize for keeping you away from your family all this time, but it was necessary..."

"No worries Hokage-sama, I'm just glad to serve. Because of this, you saved me from Yoshino-chan and her constant nagging...troublesome."

Sarutobi smirked at his friend, before dismissing the elder Nara. Instantly, he called an Anbu's name and a man appeared kneeling on the ground. He had a lion mask and his brown hair was the only distinguishable characteristic.

"Yamato, I want your team to analyze this report and initiate the search for the target. It's time we catch him once and for all"

The man just nodded and vanished once more with the scroll in hand, leaving Sarutobi alone once more as he processed some things. In little time, Naruto, Kakashi and Kasumi would return to Konoha and certainly, people wouldn't take it too kindly once he arrived. He needed to ascertain some responsibilities first.

"Tori..."

Another Anbu appeared as Hiruzen issued his orders.

"In two days time, Uzumaki Naruto and Hatake Kakashi will return from his mission. I want your team to keep track of Naruto until he graduates from the academy and becomes a genin. I trust you are aware of how delicate the situation is now. I fear that people will take action against him and I won't be able to fully protect him."

The Tori Anbu nodded.

"I'm aware of the situation Hokage-sama. Naruto-san will be safe in our hands, don't worry..." With that, the man vanished within a swirl of leaves.

Hiruzen hoped no incident would occur, but just in case something happened, at least the Anbu would take care of him. Still, the last turn of events caused the old man to worry. From what Kakashi explained, Naruto had his first kill and the fact that his Sharingan was now fully evolved could be used against him. Naruto, for all his skills, could kill someone in self-defense, but any snake could use this to his favor by saying that Naruto deserved to be killed for his actions.

Certainly Hiruzen wouldn't be surprised if such a thing happened.

Beneath all these uncertainties, however, Sarutobi wondered how skilled Naruto had become now that he fully evolved his Sharingan and, according to Kakashi, already knew quite a few jutsus. Not only that, but Kasumi trained Naruto's taijutsu and according to her, the kid was more than able to face high level genins and even low-level chunnins. Only that was enough in his opinion, but Kakashi already taught Naruto some hypnosis genjutsus that could be used with the Sharingan.

_I won't make comparisons, but Naruto is turning out to be a second Itachi. I just hope that others won't make such a comparison since some don't know the real truth of what happened._

To the majority, Itachi was blamed for the murder of the Uchiha Clan as this version was the official one notified by the Hokage at the time. However, to only a few, wiping out the Uchiha Clan was a mission carried out by Itachi issued by both the Hokage and his old teammates Koharu and Homura. Course, Danzou knew it as well since at the time, his Root Organization wasn't disbanded by Sarutobi. Now, Itachi was to remain a spy of Konoha to relay to both the Hokage and Jiraiya of the Sannin information that could very well save the village's life in the future. Also, because he managed to get within this special organization called Akatsuki, Itachi will be able to gather a wide variety of information, as he had already done. According to Jiraiya, Itachi contacted him about Orochimaru belonging to the organization and the fact that he tried to take Itachi's Sharingan.

Once Sarutobi read about it, a part of him wanted to laugh at Orochimaru's failed attempt against a prodigy of Itachi's caliber, but another part felt only regret for the individual to whom Sarutobi failed to mold into a decent and an honorable man. Without Naruto, Sarutobi already carried a great deal of sadness for his student Orochimaru. He felt responsible for not constantly watching him as well as for letting him go all these years ago.

* * *

**===Two days later===**

For a Chunnin, gate keeping missions were a vile test of patience where you did nothing except watch civilians and shinobi going in and outside the village. It was even worse when the weather was like today, extremely dry not to mention warmer than a Katon jutsu. Still, as chunnins, complaining wasn't an option. Either you perform the mission or someone else will. And when that happens, he or she will be lucky to hold the title for much longer.

So, Kotetsu and Izumo just relaxed behind the wooden balcony as they hoped something would happen. Suddenly, and as if Kami had just answered their plea, three silhouettes could be seen on the horizon approaching the west gate. By size alone, the gate keepers could see two adults and one child, probably nine or ten years old. A couple steps later, they could see the jounin vests and the fact that one was male and the other female. It took a few seconds for them to realize the strange silver hair and that only one person had it, Sharingan no Kakashi.

Soon everything fell into place.

According to the document in hand, Hatake Kakashi would return today from a long-term mission. The objective of the mission, though, wasn't written on the report. However, as the three people approached the wooden balcony, both Kotetsu and Izumo's eyes locked on the blond kid that was with Kakashi and the Hyuuga. Uzumaki Naruto was the favorite subject of every damn villager in Konoha, both civilian and shinobi.

To some, he was the Kyuubi reincarnated, to others he was the one behind the slaughter of the Uchiha Clan along with Uchiha Itachi. Right now, a small majority of the population, the reasonable group, believed Naruto to be just an innocent child that not only harbored the strongest demon ever in existence, but also possessed one of the world's strongest doujutsu. This select group was composed of the Hokage, the entire Anbu force, a few jounin and a handful of chunnin….including Kotetsu and Izumo.

However, by the time the two wanted to ask the boy some questions, the group was already heading towards the Hokage's office where Naruto would show the results of his training under both Hatake Kakashi and Hyuuga Kasumi.

As the group marched calmly towards the Hokage's office, Naruto could now perceive things he didn't before. The looks of hatred, the cursed glares, he already knew existed. But what caught his mind was the information given by his new set of eyes as he would activate the Sharingan on certain occasions. Now, he could read everyone's intention like an open book, although this was not to say that he enjoyed what he now knew.

_'Demon spawn...look at him...walking around like he belongs with us...I'd prefer he was never born'_ This came from a rather pretty lady dressed in a purple kimono. Naruto remembered her from a book store near his house.

'_How could he be so cold? Murdering an entire clan and walking among us like he knew he wouldn't be punished. No wonder he is a demon'_ Now, it was a middle-aged man with black hair and a few white ones as well.

Naruto didn't recognize him.

After this man, Naruto was pretty much convinced of the population's opinion towards him, both as the Kyuubi's jailor and the presumed murderer of the renowned Uchiha Clan. But he wasn't surprised, quite on the contrary, as this was to be expected even before he set foot inside Konoha. Every step he took, more people stared at him the same way and, so far, not one of them looked at him differently.

Some looked at him with indifference, but the majority loathed his very existence, that much was a fact.

Both Kakashi and Kasumi looked at Naruto from the corner of their eyes, while studying his reactions to the public. So far, Naruto's face remained stoic like he didn't give a damn to what others thought about him or what he represented. Kakashi noticed that Naruto's eyes were changing constantly from the Sharingan to his regular eyes and vice-versa, which meant only one thing...he wanted to gauge what everyone thought of him by crossing eyesight.

This could be bad, in Kakashi's opinion. To a child, the state of mind was very fragile and easily susceptible to outside influences.

Nevertheless, after what he'd been through, the silver haired jounin figured that the situation was under control.

* * *

**===At the Hokage's office===**

Once inside the old man's office, Kakashi and Kasumi reported to him Naruto's training so far, while Naruto remained quiet. He knew Sarutobi was looking at him the entire time, but he didn't even blink in response to the old man's stare. Hiruzen only wanted to know about the blond's thoughts to what all that people were thinking about him, but he guessed the answer was pretty much evident.

He learned how to ignore them completely.

After Kakashi finished explaining about Naruto fully evolving his Sharingan, Hiruzen turned to the blond.

"Could you perhaps give a demonstration Naruto-kun? I want to see your control over the doujutsu"

Without even giving a response or even a short nod, Naruto activated his fully-evolved Sharingan and whereas before, the two black eyes became red with three tomes in each side. Sarutobi smiled upon seeing how little time it took to activate and concluded him to be just like any Uchiha. Suddenly, though, the tomes started spinning like a spinning wheel and Hiruzen suddenly felt his body go numb and his eyes were slowly but surely closing. Kasumi was wondering what the hell happening until Kakashi landed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, ushering him to stop the genjutsu, to which Naruto nodded and stopped the technique, before Hiruzen jerked his eyes open, smiling at the prodigy in front of him.

"Well, Kakashi, you forgot to mention about Naruto's skills with genjutsu"

"Actually Hokage-sama, genjutsu is his least favorite subject. I trust that he knows the genjutsu counter technique and the one he just used on you that's all."

"Still, with his eyes, he could copy new techniques. Now, Naruto, even though it's my belief you don't need it, tomorrow you'll return to the academy." Hiruzen said, before Naruto looked at him a bit surprised.

Surely, it was because he wasn't expecting to be sent back to the academy, not because he felt like he should have been promoted to genin right now.

"I understand..." Was all his reply, before Hiruzen nodded

In little to no time, Kakashi dropped Naruto in front of his old house, before vanishing with a shunshin. Naruto took a while to turn and head for the stairs as he looked at three bystanders glaring at him with angry look on their faces. Sighing in dismay, Naruto headed to the stairs before he entered his apartment.

* * *

**===At night===**

Naruto was on his balcony looking at the village from his apartment.

He considered sleeping early since he didn't have anything to do, other than maybe reading some scrolls on the Sharingan or a new jutsu. Looking up, he realized that today the moon was full and because of it, he could see the stars much clearer. Just looking at them was sufficient to the little blond. There wasn't any star different from the other, as they just stood up there, looking at the Earth from below. They were one and the same, Naruto concluded and they were beautiful.

Sighing in dismay once more, Naruto figured taking a walk to a more secluded place would do him some good. After all, sleeping wasn't an option, since he wasn't tired at all.

Putting on his sandals, he exited his building and went up a huge set of stairs that went up a hill where Naruto knew a wooden bench was located. It was quiet and secluded; no one would bother him there as he went up the stairs with hands inside his pant pockets. If Naruto was aware of someone tailing him he didn't show it as he kept walking while looking on the ground presumably without a care in the world.

The three genins that stood behind a group of trees watched Naruto take a sit on the bench as he looked towards nothing. To the genins, Naruto was blissfully unaware that today he would meet his end and that the genins will be known as heroes for finally completing what the Yondaime started ten years ago.

Meanwhile, hidden behind the group of genins, was Tori's Anbu squad.

They have been following Naruto ever since he arrived in Konoha hence why the saw the genins attempting to attack the infant. However, the leader Tori wanted to see what Naruto was made of. He didn't have anything against the boy, nor doid he wish him harm, but the man was a fighter and as such, he respected those that knew how to fight. Of course, his team voted against it, seeing as Naruto was only ten and wouldn't be able to protect himself against three genins. Tori sighed in dismay at his team, which was composed by three Anbu Kunoichi. Surely, a man would understand his point of view, instead of these three who believed the kid was some lonely miserable child whose only wish was to be cuddled or loved. The man's word was final. He wouldn't step in unless the kid was in any danger

Suddenly, Tori looked as the genins vanished from their hidden posts and attack Naruto, surprising the blond with dozens and dozens of kunai. Naruto didn't move as all of them pierced his body at the same time. His eyes lost all color and blood started to fall from Naruto's mouth. But Tori and his crew weren't convinced. They were smiling from behind their masks as the dead Naruto turned out to be a tree log.

The three genins appeared in front of the pierced tree log with a snarl as all three of them tried to locate the damn demon's position.

Suddenly, from their backs, all three could sense the usage of chakra, before turning to meet the blond staring at them with the Sharingan eyes blazing at them, sending chills down their spine. Naruto initiated a sequence of hand seals, before gathering as much air inside his lungs.

_**Katon Dai Endan **__(Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu)_

As he exhaled the huge fireball, juts its bright light served to hypnotize two of the genins. They thought for sure Naruto wouldn't retaliate. As the technique approached, the heat was starting to become unbearable and the frightened genins did nothing to avoid them. Surely, they would be dead within seconds after the technique burned their skin and destroyed their organs. However, the only genin that wasn't scared starting making hand seals, before finishing on the bird seal.

_**Suiton Suijinheki**__ (Water Release: Water Wall Jutsu)_

The sudden appearance of the geyser of water blocked the fire sphere completely, saving the genins from certain death.

"You won't be rid of us that easily demon" The proclamation awakened the man's comrades as all three of them were wearing the same piece of clothing and a kabuki mask to avoid being recognized. Naruto, for his part, just smiled as because of the Sharingan, he copied a new technique. As for the man calling him demon, he guessed it would be a normal occurrence now that he returned to the village.

Naruto vanished towards the genins with his Sharingan active as he processed the information of everyone's intentions, before they even started to move. The tough genin moved to kick Naruto, but by this time, Naruto had already evaded his attack range and landed a fierce kick on his ribs, forcing him on the ground. The genin was finding it difficult to breathe as his lungs were filled with blood. The others actually tried attacking Naruto, but by the time they considered moving, Naruto was already making hand seals for an offensive doton jutsu, the only one he knew so far.

_**Doton Doryuu Dangan **__(Earth Release: Mud Shot Jutsu)_

Suddenly, consecutive mud shots charged at the genins, who by the way didn't have the time to dodge them.

The shots all hit their designated target and in no time, both genins were on the floor, unconscious. As Naruto stared at them, he deactivated his Sharingan eyes, as Tori's Anbu team appeared behind him, much to Naruto's sigh of dismay. With genins, he had a shot, but with Anbu he was now hoping that he managed to escape unscathed. Tori realized his line of thinking and showed his hands to Naruto.

"Uzumaki Naruto, do not worry about us following these three's actions. Our presence here is merely to take these three criminals to prison. Team arrest them and let's give them to Ibiki."

With that, the team grabbed the three unconscious genins and vanished just as Naruto connected the dots as to why a team of Anbu was there in the first place.

Suddenly a new presence appeared from within the night. Kakashi knew about the Anbu Team protecting Naruto's back and like Tori, Kakashi wanted to see how far Naruto grew because of his training.

"I didn't know you're following me around Kakashi-sensei. I thought you would be with Kasumi-chan right now" Naruto said as he approached his sensei's position, earning a smile from Kakashi.

"I was actually, but she thought it was nice to see if you're okay. I guess she was right after all."

"Yeah, I guess having your own Anbu team following you has its perks. Tell her she needn't worry. Now Kakashi-sensei, I guess I had enough action for today, so I'll head to bed. Tomorrow is academy day and I have a feeling that every minute will be a pain in the ass to deal with."

Kakashi looked at his student with pride written on his face as Naruto figured it out, but he knew Naruto wouldn't like to extend this conversation as he.... vanished within a swirl of leaves.

"If I knew he would be addicted to the shunshin, I'd have waited awhile to teach him." Kakashi smiled, before turning and leaving the vicinity with his own shunshin.

* * *

**==Next day===**

Even with all that'd happened, the blond was somehow certain that the young generation, his generation, wouldn't look at him the same way as the others. He was wrong, though, as he entered inside the academy territory. Children playing on the swings, parents dropping their children on their first day at school, and just like everyone else, the parents shot him that look. However, this time Naruto shot them the same look, surprising the grownups.

As Naruto walked inside the academy building, he took one last look behind him, before he went towards his classroom.

Naruto was thinking of a couple of bad insults to throw at the grownups, but since the garden was full of infants, he thought better of it as he passed through some empty classrooms, until he saw the one he used to be his classroom before he left the village one year ago. The door was closed as the blond was late. Upon grabbing the door handle, the blond was ready to receive different stares directed at him. Naruto would be stupid by wishing that the old generation wouldn't influence the young one, regarding his status as the village demon. Just as he opened the door, thirty one set of eyes landed on him instantly.

Everyone who knew Naruto, wondered why he vanished for one year straight only to appear now; not that anyone was actually interested.

According to their parents, the blond was a menace to society and because of this; it was prohibited to be anywhere near the blond.

Umino Iruka and Touji Mizuki looked at the blond near the door, before Iruka ushered him to take a seat. He nodded as the seat next to the Nara heir Shikamaru was vacant. After he took a seat, Iruka nodded and turned to the entire classroom as he was revising the various ninja arts there is out there today. It was an interesting subject, compared to his lectures about the village's history, but Naruto could feel each and every stare at the back of his head. He could feel as everyone preferred looking at him, than paying attention to the chunnin teacher.

Although he figured the looks would cease with time, the blond wondered how much time it would take.

* * *

**Author Note**

okay, I'll end the chapter here.

Next chapter, Naruto will graduate and the genin teams will be chosen.

As it stands, no one in the academy will warm up to him, so he'll be alone…at least until he graduates when he's settled in a genin team.

That being said, I placed a poll regarding two possible genin teams for him, its function and the jounin sensei that would be responsible. Check my profile and place your vote.

Tel me what you think and see you all next chapter.


	6. Untrustworthy

_**Author Note**_

Hi everyone!

Like I said before, I'll start focusing on my new stories a lot more, so here is the next update, this time, of Cursed Eyes.

It's been a long time since I last updated the story, so I feel like it's better to recapitulate a bit.

Last chapters, Kakashi took Naruto away from the village, in order to better acquaint the little guy with his new Sharingan eyes. During which, Naruto learned extensive chakra control exercises, a new taijutsu style and two of his affinities, fire and earth. Afterward, a new character entered named Hyuuga Kasumi. She and Kakashi had a history together, but her mission was to protect Naruto together with Kakashi, which she almost failed, if the blond wasn't awakened when the attack came.

Now, a year has passed and Naruto returned to the village, in order to join the academy.

Let's see what happens next...

* * *

_**Chapter 6 – Untrustworthy**_

_**Beta: Kyuubi123**_

**

* * *

**These last couple of years was considered hell to one Uzumaki Naruto. Ever since he joined the academy, the pace in which he used to learn things diminished considerably. He still trained his already acquired techniques, but now most of his time; he was caught between learning the village's history and a couple of more need-to-know subjects, like geography of the Elemental Nation and Mathematics. Although incredibly frustrating, he had to force his mind to learn all these information in order to pass the academy.

The boy wasn't by all means, the best of the class in this department. But it didn't mean he was the last one, either.

Kakashi never stopped drilling into his head that being the best at the academy wasn't necessarily a good thing, seeing as it would direct more unwanted attention. The man also said to apply a bit, so Naruto was amongst the middle of the class in terms of book smart. In other fields, however, he didn't have much competition. In taijutsu, he managed to beat every single one of his teammates and excelled in ninjutsu as he already knew the three academy jutsus. In accuracy, however, he only lost to the class Hyuuga, but the girl was using her doujutsu the entire time, so Naruto didn't know if he was better or not. His Sharingan was considered an ace in the whole, not something to be used constantly.

Said lesson, he took to heart after constant beatings from Kakashi, Kasumi and the Hokage himself. Today was the last day before the academy final test and Umino Iruka, the academy teacher, was taking his time recapitulating the entire curriculum, in order to better prepare his students for tomorrow. The blond just shrugged it off and decided to look around the class a bit. Because of what happened in the past, the village population pretty much loathed his existence like a plague that walked amongst them. Not only that, but also it seemed that those who lived through the fox's attack, twelve years ago, passed on their hatred to their offspring. In other words, none of his classmates looked, talked or even shared a glimpse at him.

It was like he didn't exist...yet he never missed a day at school.

He didn't mind, though. He had a lot of problems to cope with. The nightmares subsided almost completely, but every now and again, his mind would trick him, stealing some hours of sleep. Also, the whispers he still heard from the population made him almost relieve everything like it happened yesterday. Both Kakashi and Kasumi rotated in speaking to him, letting him know that they were there for him. Although he constantly appreciated and at the same time dismissed their concerns, Naruto was constantly asked by one of them if everything was alright. It was bad enough that even the Hokage came in one occasion, asking him the same thing. Naruto didn't believe his case was worthy of such concern, though. Yes, his past was dark but he was coming to terms with it.

"...Uzumaki Naruto..."

He couldn't just dismiss the Hokage, though. The old man was the closest thing he had to a grandfather.

"Naruto...!" It took Iruka screaming to wake the blond from his wondering, before the blond paid attention to him.

"Yes, Iruka-sensei?"

"Can you remember what the Nidaime Hokage was famous for and his weapon of choice?" The question wasn't that hard, but he disliked the teacher's attitude.

Seeing as people rarely talked to him, the blond developed a sort of introspective personality, meaning he had the tendency to speak with himself a lot. Therefore, he didn't like being interrupted when he was thinking.

"Nidaime Hokage was famous for his mastery of suiton ninjutsu, since he didn't need to use a nearby source of water. And his weapon was called the Raijin, which was used in complement with his suiton ninjutsu" His answer was perfect and if someone else answered like he did, Iruka wouldn't move on, before complementing him or her. But Naruto was hated by him, therefore Iruka, upon hearing the answer, simply shrugged it off and chose another person to ask the next question. The blond didn't mind, once more. He knew, from the Hokage, that Iruka's parents were killed by the fox. But then again, so did everyone, apparently.

In little less than an hour, the class bell ringed and everyone left the classroom. Once outside, the blond took notice that a lot of people were at the academy's entrance. Parents, sisters, brothers, even friends, waiting to pick the students and take them home.

However, Naruto didn't even need to look for either Kakashi or Kasumi amongst the crowd. As jounins, they were constantly sent out to high level missions outside the village. He remembered, one time, though when Kasumi appeared and picked him up for some lunch...it was a really good day. As he took the stairs towards the river that passed in front of the academy, he could hear the whispers coming from the parents, warning their offspring, time and time again, not to socialize with him. Naruto stopped and turned to meet some of those eyes, something he never did before. Just as he did so, everyone seemed to mind their own business and walk away. Although this was his first time doing so, Naruto wasn't surprised that people wouldn't curse him right in front of him.

There was a law prohibiting it after all...

After grabbing something to eat, the blond was once more at his favorite place in the village. It was one of farthest training grounds, actually one of the last within Konoha territory. It wasn't special by any means; it was a plain field, with a few trees and big rocks. What made Naruto choose this training ground was the fact that _no one _came here, except for the Anbu team that protected him, but that was a different issue. For the first twenty minutes of his training, he would perform some light katas of his taijutsu style, in order to get better acquainted with them. Then, he would exercise his chakra by running up and down the tallest tree of the training ground, while molding the earth below him up and down as well. It was an exercise that Kakashi taught him a couple of months ago, in order to improve his second affinity. Afterward, he would practice his taijutsu against the tree logs as well as adding a couple of fire techniques to his sequence of attacks. His speed was improving, Naruto thought with a smile on his face. Both Kakashi and Kasumi said to him that training without the Sharingan would only be beneficial to him once he used the doujutsu.

_In order for your doujutsu to work more effectively, you need to improve your body and reflexes without it..._

It was a little difficult for the blond to understand at first, but he now got it. The Sharingan, by itself, would point the enemy's moves, but what good that would be if the body couldn't react in time to avoid it. Every day, he maintained the same routine and with vigor. The leading Anbu quite often reported such to the Hokage, whenever he had the chance to. After leaving the academy, he would grab something to eat and then, come here to train until nightfall. Activating the Sharingan was the last item of his training agenda and he actually used it to practice genjutsus...well actually it was only one technique, but he practiced a lot with it, using a couple of bunshins for targets.

As the sun began its descent, the blond wiped the sweat off his face and marched towards his house.

He would sleep early today to focus on the test tomorrow. It wouldn't bode well for him to fail because of laziness. In little less than twenty minutes, he arrived at the always busy merchant district and passed by as inconspicuous as possible, so as not to cause any trouble. Since the Hokage assigned the Anbu team to protect him, no one else dared lift a finger to attack him, but you'd never know with this village. Naruto wouldn't put it past him to deal with a drunken ninja, pissed off at the unfairness of the world. Not to mention the fact that fighting in the middle of the open road could lead to some innocent people getting hurt and he just couldn't handle one more reason for the population to hate him. Fortunately, he managed to reach his good for nothing apartment. Inside, he fixed some instant ramen and put on his night clothes. Tomorrow, he would have a metal headband on his forehead.

* * *

_**===the next day===**_

Once every academy student arrived at the classroom, the first exam was handled, the written one began. The questions were pretty basic, save for a few that would serve to separate the best students from the merely passable ones. Questions like a brief history of the three ninjas trained by the Sandaime Hokage and the team's name. Naruto passed by the questions with apparent boredom, until he landed in an interesting one, number 27. _Man, they're unbelievable…which method was used by the Yondaime Hokage to kill the Kyuubi no Yoko? _Naruto remembered reading a specific part of his booklet that explained some sort of convenient history, saying that the Yondaime Hokage managed to defeat the beast by sending it into another dimension, through the usage of fuuinjutsu. Imagine the surprise of everyone in the classroom if the blond just got up on top of his chair and yelled that the damn fox owed him this month's rent.

He wrote the answer just like the booklet explained and passed through the rest of the questions.

Eventually, the test was over and now was time for the taijutsu and accuracy portion of the exam. Regarding accuracy, the blond almost aced hitting 9 of the 10 shurikens and 10 of the ten 10 kunais. When the taijutsu portion came, the students formed two lines, as they would be tested against the Chunnin teachers, Umino Iruka and Touji Mizuki. Quite strangely, Naruto was lined to fight Iruka. While Iruka openly hated Naruto because of the fox, at least he didn't let said hatred interfere with his job as an academy teacher. Mizuki, on the other hand, never bothered to hide it and openly dismissed every single question Naruto asked, as unimportant and move on with the classroom.

In the end, Naruto always had to ask Kasumi what he didn't understand.

In order to pass the test, one only had to land a hit. A few of the students did horribly and the fight was over in less than two minutes. Others, though, eventually managed to land a hit, using their clan related techniques. When Naruto was up, he backed it up a bit, in order to maintain a decent distance from Iruka. Not too close and also not very far from his opponent. Iruka hated the boy, but he knew he was talented and had much potential as a shinobi. Upon being authorized to strike, Naruto didn't waste time and charged at Iruka with a straight punch to his face. At the last moment, though, he switched attacks and went to kick Iruka's side stomach. Although shocked at the speed, Iruka managed to defend using his forearm. Iruka, then, started attacking with his right elbow, followed by a swift low kick, all of them respectively blocked or evaded by the blond. Naruto, then, charged at the still moving Iruka, with a straight punch aimed at Iruka's chest. He managed to hit, taking a bit of air from Iruka.

"Uzumaki, go back in line…"

That would serve as complement from his teacher, Naruto reasoned as he calmly returned to the end of the line. After him, three kunoichi aspirants gave their shots, but only one managed to land a hit. Mizuki's group finished as well, so the students went back to the classroom, where they would be called in to show one of the academy jutsus. As far as Naruto was concerned, the headband was already causing his forehead to itch. When his name was called, he reached the next classroom only to see Mizuki and Iruka sitting behind a table full of Konohagakure headbands. As he stood in front of the table, he waited for anyone of them to call in the name of the jutsu.

"Okay Uzumaki…in order to pass the exam, you need to perform the Bunshin no Jutsu…three clones should do it"

Mizuki smirked, before he gave Naruto the exercise. Despite the blond's passable grades, if any student failed the ninjutsu portion of the exam, then he would fail. He was about to cast a quick genjutsu, when he looked up and saw three clones standing behind Naruto, all four of them looking quite bored. Inwardly, Mizuki cursed Naruto's existence for doing the jutsus faster than even Chunnin level ninja twice his age. One thing that Mizuki didn't know, though, was that Naruto's talent relied in ninjutsu. He made chakra control exercises ever since the Uchiha Massacre, so he didn't need much concentration to use so little of his chakra capacity. He grabbed the headband and tied it to his forehead, before leaving the room just like he entered. Once he left, though, Iruka turned his look towards Mizuki with a stern face.

"You were going to sabotage his exam, weren't you?" Iruka asked, knowing that he didn't need an answer, seeing the look on his partner's face.

"Yeah, but I didn't know the brat had such talent in ninjutsu" Mizuki at first looked at Iruka, wondering if the man would rat him out, but by the look on his face, Mizuki smiled relieved. "You wouldn't lift a finger to help him, huh?"

The lack of response told Mizuki everything. As deep as his hatred for the fox was, for the first time, he truly allowed it to overrule his sense of professionalism. Mizuki was right and this time, Iruka felt ashamed.

Once the test was over, those who passed were rubbing their headbands and showing them to their parents, so that they could be proud of the now graduated genin. However, despite the festivities, pretty much all of the parents looked at Naruto's headband with a snarl, seeing as the Kyuubi brat managed to pass as well. The blond was looking at his situation now that he had a headband on his forehead. The Hokage's stipulation was that the Anbu team would cease his protection once he became a genin. Therefore, if someone were to deliberately attack him, he wouldn't have the Anbu's backup. _Uh, what the hell? Now, I'm a ninja, openly attacking me is an offense on its own…_

_

* * *

_

**===At the Hokage's Office===**

Once the test was over, Iruka and Mizuki handed the grades to the Hokage as well as a dozen of seasoned and not so seasoned jounins. The time came for the Hokage and the jounins to choose their genins. Out of the blue, everyone could point out nine outstanding candidates from the academy. Of course, eight of them belonged to Konohagakure's respectful clans, the Hyuuga, Nara, Yamanaka, Inuzuka, Kurama, Haruno, Akimichi and the Aburame. The last of the nine was the only one apparently clan less…one Uzumaki Naruto. The Hokage smiled at this, though the sentiment wasn't shared by the majority. Hiruzen knew he had to play his cards right or else Naruto would end up with a jounin who may deliberately flunk him and send him back at the academy. Three of the A-class students would be taken by Kurenai, seeing as he always intended to have a track-sensor team. Aburame Shino, Kiba Inuzuka and Hinata Hyuuga would work great under the genjutsu mistress of Konoha.

The Nara, Yamanaka and Akimichi always made an incredible team, but that happened only once, so the Hokage had room for moving the genins around a bit. He had two jounins at his disposal that wouldn't think badly of the kid.

Both Kakashi and Asuma would take care of him and properly guide his future. However, he was concerned that Kakashi would favor Naruto, so his choice was on Asuma. Upon asking his son about it, the man shrugged it off, not caring much who he gets it. Hiruzen smiled at this. He didn't appreciate the fact that Kakashi had yet to arrive, meaning he couldn't complain about the team set-ups. Most of the jounins snickered at the Hokage's comment and since Kakashi never showed any interest in training Naruto as a genin, he would get three different genins, with skills that complimented each other.

"Ok, Naruto, Akimichi Chouji and Yamanaka Ino will be team 10 under Sarutobi Asuma and Kurama Yakumo, Sakura Haruno and Nara Shikamaru will be Team 7 under Kakashi. Now, moving on…" The Hokage said as he proceeded with the rest of the teams and the jounins responsible for them.

* * *

_**===With Naruto===**_

After leaving the academy, instead of going to his apartment, Naruto went towards a more secluded alleyway, where he could be alone to do what he came here to do.

"Anbu-san, would you please show up…I'd like to talk to you if I may…" No sooner had he called, Tori appeared in front of him with his arms crossed.

"What is it that you wish to talk about…Naruto?"

"I know that as of right now, your team will no longer follow me around, so I'd like to say thank you, that' s all" The answer surprised the Anbu leader, who in turn smirked behind his mask. The boy knew about respect and how much trouble the Anbu prevented by just being there.

"You don't need to do that, Naruto, it was a mission given by Hokage-sama…"

"That's true…but it's also true that no ninja should attack civilians, yet I always felt like a walking target…well, thanks anyway"

After saluting the Anbu leader, Naruto went to his preferred training ground once more, this time for a different type of training. Because of its dangerousness, the art of kenjutsu was left as more of a side project to his growth. He rarely practiced the katas taught by Kakashi. Instead, he just focused on reading some material about the history of the art as well as some battle positions, both offensive and defensive. Today would be the second time he ever practiced with the two swords he received from Kakashi. Taking a scroll, he unsealed the wakizashi and firmly grabbed the hilt, before examining it a bit. Every book he read explained that one only achieved mastery when he or she could use the blade as an extension of the body. The blond admitted knowing very little about this concept of sword fighting. But he would practice with it and one day; see if he has what it takes to master the art of sword fighting. Slowly, he went through the katas taught by his sensei. He slashed the air repeatedly, but anyone who saw him would realize that his skill with the sword was non-existent. Although he knew the moves, Naruto was worried that he would do something wrong and end up cutting himself or something.

"Kid, I advise to stop what you're doing, less you want to lose a limb or two..." The familiar voice alerted the blond to the Anbu's presence, who was right behind him with his arms crossed.

"I thought your team wasn't following me anymore..." Naruto said, as he resumed the katas, while remembering the movements from watching Kakashi a long time ago with his eyes.

"True...but since my team didn't have more missions for the day, I decided to follow you a bit you know...to see if someone would attack you. I wonder, though, why are you attempting to use the sword. In these last two years, not once did I see you practicing with it?" The blond saw that the ninjato strapped on the man's back and wondered if he could give the blond some pointers, at least a starting point for him to focus on. Tori knew about this...in fact, once he saw that Naruto sucked at kenjutsu, he figured that a little help would be necessary. Not that he minded, though, seeing as he was free to go home.

"Say...Anbu-san, could you please give me some pointers here and there, you know, just to get me started..."

"Sure thing Kid. I don't have anything better to do anyway. From what I've seen, your moves were pretty much accurate, but both the speed and length of your attacks are appalling. You need to imagine that you're fighting for your life. It only takes one precise attack to end someone's life with a sword. That's the beauty of it. But with moves like the one you performed, you wouldn't be able to scratch your enemy's skin. Go through the katas one more time...only this time, give everything to it" The blond nodded and began the exercise once more. His moves were more precise this time, but he was still too slow...

"Faster kid...imagine the opponent in front of you dodging your strikes like it was nothing. Strike fast and precise...that's what you need to have in mind"

Activating the Sharingan, this time, the blond did as his new sensei instructed, piercing the air like he was piercing his opponent's heart. He sliced with vigor, with enthusiasm. Tori stopped talking as he watched the blond's moves, now completely different than before. He was now committed to learning kenjutsu like it's supposed to be…through practice, steel against steel. The blond was so engrossed with his moves, that he didn't see Tori unleash his ninjato. It was the sun's reflection that alerted the newly instated genin from a sudden attack that was aimed at his chest. The blond managed to dodge in time by positioning his wakizashi in front of the sword, parrying the blow. While he observed the Anbu in front of him, Naruto at first wondered if the man wanted to kill him, because of the rumors and the fact that the damn fox was inside his gut. However, with the Sharingan on, he could see that the real thing. There wasn't much killing intent in his posture. It was merely a test.

"The only way for you to truly learn the art of kenjutsu, Naruto, is through practice. I'll tell you what…if you agree to wake up early…I mean really early, we can practice your kenjutsu every morning"

The conversation was cut short for a while, as Tori charged at Naruto with his ninjato ready to pierce Naruto's side stomach, but because of the blond's Sharingan, he managed to position his sword in order to defend. Problem was that, although he could predict his opponent's moves, his body didn't have the finesse of a sword fighter. If Tori really wanted to kill Naruto, then he would only need a little more strength to pass through the blond's defense and deliver the killing blow. After pinpointing the mistake, they started again and this time, Naruto squeezed the sword grip. It was better than before, but not the accurate move, according to Tori.

"Strength alone won't guarantee anything, Naruto. You can't simply parry my sword with strength, but precision. The advantage of short swords, such as ours, is that we can maneuver our weapons much faster than a regular katana. Focus on speed and precision, rather than brute strength"

Naruto nodded, before the two went through the sequences like they were performing a showdown. It wasn't as slow now and the blond was beginning to understand the meaning of his sensei's words as he managed to parry the attack, before flipping and maneuvered the sword to the other side, forcing Tori to use some speed to defend. Now, the two continued their sword fight until the moon decided to show up. Tori was amazed by Naruto's stamina, since the kid was using his Sharingan the entire time. However, seeing as he had to present in Anbu corps very soon tomorrow and Naruto had the academy, it was better to finish the training session for the day.

"Tori-sensei, I actually have another sword that was given by Kakashi. Is it hard to work with two at the same time?" Naruto asked as the pair silently walked towards the village.

"It's better to work with one first, Naruto. It's not hard to use two swords, but Konoha's shinobi always focus on using only one sword at a time. Villages like Kumo and Kirigakure, though, are much different. It will depend on what you feel more comfortable fighting with. Well, kid, I'm off to get home. Tomorrow, you'll be introduced to your new genin team and I'll have to present early at Anbu corps, so we'll schedule our spars the day after tomorrow, sounds good?" Naruto nodded with quite enthusiasm, earning a smile from the man hidden inside the bird mask. After that, each went to their separate places. Naruto decided to grab a quick bite and Tori headed home.

Half an hour later, the blond was walking towards his house when his eyes found a shadow travelling on top of his rooftop, before heading for the woods. With nothing to do for the day, the blond followed the shadow's direction with his Sharingan active, allowing him to follow the chakra residues left by the man or woman. A couple minutes later, he landed behind a tree and looked to see the shadow opening a gigantic scroll on the floor. His eyes widened as he identified the man as Mizuki, one of the chunnins of the academy. But what was he doing here, reading a scroll hidden from everyone? Something didn't add up, Naruto reasoned as he tried to approach the chunnin's position. As soon as he landed on the tree above Mizuki's position, he heard the fool…

"Stealing the Forbidden Scroll of Kinjutsu was easier than I thought I would be. Certainly Orochimaru-sama will be pleased…"

Deciding it was enough evidence, Naruto turned and decided to report to the Hokage, however his left foot suddenly slipped and the noise was enough to alert the Chunnin as a gigantic shuriken came flying straight at him, fast. The blond did the only thing he could and substituted himself with a small rock that was on the ground. Mizuki didn't know who was following him, but he knew that whoever it was would have to die for his plans to be fulfilled. He had to hurry and deal with this mess, before the guards finish their rotation and close his exit strategy. As soon as he saw the Sharingan eyes in front of him, Mizuki grinned like a monster, ready to get rid of the demon and be claimed a hero by the village.

"Well...well…if isn't the demon brat…I thought I was being followed by a jounin or even Anbu, but with you I can get rid of you for good…" The blatant transgression of the Sandaime's law was just added to Mizuki's criminal record, but by the look on his face, the man didn't care much.

Mizuki strapped the scroll on his back, before picking a kunai and charging Naruto. He was fast, but with the fully evolved Sharingan, Naruto was able to predict his movements and react accordingly. He evaded every single strike from Mizuki with ease from all his training which infuriated the gray haired Chunnin. If this continued for much longer, Anbu would find him and arrest him. He had to deal with the brat for good. After missing yet another strike, Mizuki created some distance between them and started making a fast succession of hand seals. The blond didn't need the Sharingan to know which jutsu Mizuki would use. Naruto was already making hand seals; by the time Mizuki gathered air inside his lungs.

_**Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu**__ (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)_

_**Doton Doryuuheki**__ (Earth Release: Mud Barrier Technique)_

The blast of fire wasn't enough to disrupt Naruto's defensive and Mizuki cursed the blond for using the technique. No doubt, the noise would attract the Anbu's attention very soon. He was surprised, though, when a pair of hands grabbed his ankles.

_**Doton Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu**__ (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique)_

Mizuki didn't have time to escape and he was pushed below the ground by Naruto. The blond, then, left the ground and stared at Mizuki with his Sharingan eyes. The Chunnin snarled at the genin, but he found himself getting tired all of a sudden. Just before he closed his eyes, he saw the black tomes spinning like cartwheels. By this time, a group of Anbu appeared at the area and saw Mizuki going below ground by a genin and the scroll near them. The noise caused by the fire technique alerted the nearby Anbu patrol and they appeared soon afterward. Naruto gently let go of Mizuki's sleeping head as he turned towards the Anbu group.

"Can you explain your presence here, genin Uzumaki Naruto?" Naruto was momentarily surprised upon hearing a woman voice from what appeared to be the team leader, but shrugged it off as unimportant.

"I saw Mizuki on the roofs with a strange looking scroll so I decided to follow him. Turned out he was working for the sannin Orochimaru and was taking a look at the scroll when he found me. We engaged and I managed to send him below ground before casting a genjutsu on him. He's all yours!"

None of the Anbu found evidence of false testimony, so they let him leave, while the rest of the team recuperated the scroll and released the traitor from the ground. When they turned, Naruto was already gone.

* * *

_**===Next day===**_

Today was time for the newly assembled genins to meet their new jounin sensei. Naruto was the first to arrive as always. He preferred to arrive early, so as to find less people on his way to the academy. He wasn't counting on having company so soon, therefore, he brought along something to pass his time. He had a full day yesterday as memories of his fight against Mizuki kept playing inside his mind. He wondered if perhaps Mizuki underestimated him or if his skills were superior to the Chunnin. Theoretically, a Chunnin would easily wipe the floor with a genin level shinobi. Naruto guessed that the Sharingan was what allowed him in the end, considering that he could foresee Mizuki's movements before it happened. Looking around, he realized that he would be alone for quite a while.

Usually, the teacher only arrives a few minutes before the class starts. Strangely, however, the door opened up and Iruka entered inside. The Chunnin teacher laid his eyes on the lonely student inside his classroom and frowned, remembering how he almost let his hatred rule his judgment yesterday.

Iruka still hated the boy. He knew it was unreasonable, seeing as the blond didn't do anything. It was the fox that resided inside him that irked Iruka to no end. A part of him wished to eliminate the boy and, thus, eliminate the fox for good.

The other side, though, knew that by doing so, he would be setting the fox free and that would be even worse. Still, just by looking at the blond, old memories resurfaced and Iruka relived the horror that was seeing his parents being slaughtered by the demon fox. Deciding to do as he always did, Iruka ignored the blond and started writing something on the board. The blond, for his part, didn't even bother to read since the scroll was much more interesting. After Iruka finished what he was writing, he took a seat and stared at nothing the entire time. Soon the tension started to gather inside the room. Iruka always tried his best to ignore Naruto like the plague he considered the blond to be. But what intrigued him was that he couldn't see any emotion coming out of those stoic black eyes of his. It was like the blond didn't care one too many about being ignored. And that's quite rare in the ninja world, especially for one so young. Not once did Naruto socialized with others his age. Even if he did, though, it wouldn't matter because the entire classroom didn't even know he was there in the first place.

As responsible for the classroom, Iruka knew about the blond's condition. The fact that he not only harbors the fox, but also had received Sasuke Uchiha's eyes after an attack from Sasuke's brother Itachi. Even though Naruto was now considered the last Uchiha, no one even bothers to at least salute him. People used to revere the Uchihas, but Naruto was a different case. In fact, aside from the Hokage and Hatake Kakashi, there wasn't a soul in Konoha that would trust the blond with anything. Iruka was so engrossed on his wonderings that he didn't realize he was staring at the blond.

"Is there something you wish to talk to me about, Iruka-san?"

Naruto's voice alerted Iruka and he quickly shut his face and denied the claim. The blond just shrugged it off and returned to his reading. Now that he graduated, the word sensei wasn't applied anymore. Iruka wasn't fazed by it, though. Naruto probably thought of him just as much as he thought of the blond. In little time, the graduated students started filling the classroom and Iruka started smiling to all of them, like some sort of switch inside his head had turned. After the class was full, Iruka expected Mizuki to enter and close the door, but instead another teacher of the school walked in and whispered something to Iruka's ear. Naruto could only guess the reason behind the surprise. While people kept telling that he was a monster for no apparent reason, people like Mizuki kept disrespecting the rules.

It came out as shocking to Iruka that Mizuki would do something like betraying the village but somehow Naruto knew that if he was accused of something, no one would find it shocking or even slightly surprising.

"To everyone who graduated; congratulations. All of you earned the honor of carrying our village's insignia as full-fledged shinobi. However, the track ahead is dangerous and will test all your abilities both as ninjas and humans. Now, I will announce the teams of genins and the respective jounin sensei. As you know, each team will be formed by three of you under a jounin, thus forming a four men unit. Now, team 1…." Iruka started reading the teams and the respective jounins responsible for each. As he went, some cheered, others wined at not being place with his or her friends. "Team 7 will be composed of Haruno Sakura, Kurama Yakumo and Nara Shikamaru, under jounin Hatake Kakashi…" Upon hearing this, the Nara heir moaned troublesome repeatedly at being paired with two women. Iruka laughed, but continued…

"Team 8 is composed of Hyuuga Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka and Aburame Shino under Jounin Yuhi Kurenai…" Naruto heard the names and wondered if he would be left out of the team assignments. A part of him was sad that Kakashi wouldn't be his sensei, but he still wondered what would happen if his name wasn't on the list.

"Since team 9 already exists, team 10 is composed of Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji and Uzumaki Naruto; under Jounin Sarutobi Asuma…Any moment now, the jounins will come here, so wait patiently. I just wanted to express that I have high hopes for all of you" _Somehow, I doubt that. _Naruto thought as he looked at the Chunnin's back. Iruka left the classroom while the graduated genins started talking with each other. Naruto, though, kept to himself. It was always like this, he reasoned. People talking with each other, pretending he wasn't there in the first place. He wondered about his life now that he was part of a team. He wondered if his presence would be acknowledged by either Ino or Chouji or even his new sensei Sarutobi Asuma.

A few rows behind him, three genins were talking amongst each other. Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru were a bit frustrated that they wouldn't be together. Worst of it all was that both Chouji and Ino were paired with the village pariah Uzumaki Naruto. Chouji didn't much mind other than Shikamaru wasn't with them, but Ino was wondering what life would be like now that Naruto was part of her team. She remembered all those stories from her mother about Naruto. Since the academy started, Ino's mother warned her never to socialize with him because he had trouble written all over him. Also the fact that Naruto was inside the Uchiha Compound when the massacre happened led to a lot of rumors that the blond sided with Itachi and murdered everyone. Ino never bothered to check the validity behind the rumor, so she just took her mother's words for it and created great distance from the blond. Shikamaru, for his part, didn't have much against Naruto, but actually socializing with him was such a drag in his opinion, therefore he didn't bother.

Within minutes, almost all of the jounins arrived including Sarutobi Asuma who came and informed his team to meet them at the Barbeque Place, much to Chouji's pleasure since his bag of chips just ended and his stomach began to manifest itself.

Just as Ino and Chouji went to see if Naruto was still in classroom, they were surprised to see that he wasn't there anymore. In the end, both of them shrugged and left the classroom, towards the barbeque restaurant.

* * *

_**===At the Barbeque Restaurant===**_

Looking at the clock at the restaurant, Asuma figured his team would take at least ten to twenty minutes more. He was surprised, though, when one of the members stood by his side, looking at him stoically. _Little bastard…I didn't even sense him coming…_Uzumaki Naruto was indeed an interesting human being, Asuma reasoned. He knew quite a bit about the blond genin, particularly because he, as expected from every jounin-sensei, read Naruto's file two times. He knew about the Kyuubi inside of him and he knew the circumstances behind him obtaining the Sharingan. He also knew that, because of such events, the blond was looked down upon by pretty much everyone and he already assumed he would have to play a more active role in _changing _his other students' minds towards the blond.

"May I sit, Asuma-sensei?" Naruto said, before taking a sit right in front of Asuma.

"Say Naruto, I didn't know you were that fast. I was expecting you to take at least ten more minutes to come here…"

"Well, I came here the same way you did…"

The thought that Naruto already learned a Chunnin level ability called the Shunshin was impressive. But his file never mentioned him knowing about it, which meant the little bastard _copied _him while using. He would have to talk to his genin about using the Sharingan to copy everything. He looked at the clock once more, before both Chouji and Ino arrived. They greeted the jounin, before taking a seat near Naruto. Actually, Ino chose the farthest seat from the blond while Chouji took the seat in between. Asuma saw it instantly and frowned at them, but what he was most surprised about was that Naruto saw it too. The blond just shrugged it off like it wasn't important.

"Ok, now that we're now getting to know each other, I'd like to hear from each of you, a bit of personal information. You know, names, likes, dislikes, dreams for the future…that kind of thing. I'll go first…My name is Sarutobi Asuma and I have what people call a nasty habit, but I enjoy it greatly. I like to smoke. What I don't like is those that believe little of themselves and quit beforehand. I don't have much of a dream, though, I just want to guide you three towards a brighter future. Now, why don't you go next, Ino" The girl beamed at getting to talk.

"Well, my name is Yamanaka Ino and I like my friends at the academy. There isn't much I dislike…and my dream is to make my parents proud of me…" Ino looked at the blond a bit upon saying her dislikes, but Asuma dismissed it. Next turn was Chouji's.

"Akimichi Chouji here and I like eating…a bag of chips, ramen, barbeque, pretty much everything really. I hate people who call me fat, because of my appearance and my dream is to show everyone that I can be a great shinobi" Asuma smiled at the kid, before turning to the last member of his team.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I like to train and learn new techniques. I don't have any dislikes and not many dreams to speak of" His introduction was what Asuma expected. He also expected that either Ino or Chouji asked him some questions.

There were none, though.

"Well, then, now that we've all introduced each other, I was supposed to give a final test to you three to see if you have what it takes to become a genin. However, I'm not going to give you one" Ino and Chouji were shocked upon hearing this. "I can see that you three have talent, therefore…congratulations, we're now team 10" Ino and Chouji smiled and congratulated each other. Naruto, though, kept his stoic visage. Unknown to all three of them, though, no matter what happened, Asuma was supposed to pass them. Every year was the same. Out of twenty seven candidates, only nine would fully graduate and become genin. Thus, team 7, 8 and 10 were the chosen ones.

* * *

_**Author Note**_

Okay, let me know what you think.

For those who remember an old poll of mine, I decided to change the teams a bit. Placing Naruto, Shikamaru and Shino together would sound as unfair for the rest of the teams, so I balanced it out a bit.

Also, I was always curious about how they choose the nine genins out of the twenty seven graduates. It's a little bit strange that only three of the teams managed to pass when the rest didn't. It's supposed to be fixed, somehow!

Now, will Naruto's presence be acknowledged by his teammates? Or it will be the same as always and Asuma will have a tough job ahead of him?

Plus, I placed a challenge in my profile page. I was meaning to create a new story, but hey who I'm kidding! I don't have the time to properly update the already existing stories, let one throw another one into the mess. It's an idea I had after seeing the last Shippuuden Movie. It involves one of the bloodlines mentioned at the last Naruto Shippuuden Movie called **Jinton** (Swift Release). If anyone is interested, please check it out and let me know.

See ya.


	7. Training and Dranked missions

**Author Note**

Hello there once more and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes.

I know I already said it before, but I have great expectations regarding this story. Also, from the reviews I received, which were excellent by the way, I'm sure that the readers also enjoyed it so far. Contrary to my other stories, this Naruto is more isolated from his peers, with only a few out there to whom he likes hanging with. Some of the readers asked me whether or not Naruto's team would accept him eventually. The answer is yes, though they will have to overcome some boundaries first. It will be Asuma who will bring them close as he works them through hell in order to increase their skills.

Now, that's out of the way, here's the chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 7 – Training and D-ranked missions**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

The sound of metal battling against metal could be heard throughout the training ground as Naruto and the Anbu Tori faced each other in pure kenjutsu. It was their first day as kenjutsu partners and the Anbu was impressed by the boy's stamina and will to learn and correct his form. The training began at 0600 hours and not a single soul could be seen wandering around Konoha.

Naruto found out that he enjoyed waking up this time of day.

The reason was because he didn't have many hours of sleep at his disposal, because of the nightmares. Also, the fact that he didn't need to worry about ignoring the villagers was a plus in his book. He appreciated training more than anything; he continuously appreciated Tori for his assistance. Little did he know, though, the Anbu found it as beneficial as Naruto, seeing as he wanted to practice his kenjutsu for a long time. The speed in which they were fighting was considered chunnin level and Tori was proud of the blond, even though he wished to increase the level in a couple of days. He knew that Naruto was able to increase the speed, using his Sharingan, but he concurred with the blond that he needed to practice his skills without it, first. As the practice progressed, Naruto was slowly losing his focus, seeing as it was quite hard to keep up with a veteran. He began to show a great deal of openings for the Anbu to exploit, before the man ushered Naruto to take a break.

"Rest a bit, Naruto. Kenjutsu requires finesse. When you began to show fatigue, it's better to stop and rest a bit. Now, although you showed improvement since yesterday, but you're still trying to parry my blows, using strength. It's fine against someone who has yet to master the art, but one could easily use it against you" It didn't take long to realize that Tori was an excellent teacher. He just knew how to explain a complicated art in simple words, allowing the blond to grasp the skills needed to learn kenjutsu.

"I understand Tori-sensei. Though how can I parry your strikes without using strength?"

"It's just a matter of deflecting my strike, nothing more. Defend and then strike, do not try to simply stop my movements. With experience, you'll come to realize that kenjutsu is nothing but a dance. When you master the art, you'll be able to _lead_ your opponent through precise strikes aimed to disorient him or her, before you move for the final strike, either to incapacitate or to kill. Like everything, you'll manage in time. Now, I'll increase the speed of the fight, so feel free to activate your Sharingan. You indeed shouldn't depend on it, but as a weapon, you must be familiarized with it"

Naruto nodded, before closing his eyes. When he opened, the menacing red eyes appeared. The deadly dance started once more and like Tori said, the level increased. However, with his eyes, Naruto managed to anticipate his opponent's moves, before he even started them, allowing him more time to properly defend as well as attack. Tori always found it amazing how the Sharingan eyes worked. Before, Naruto worked his ass off to top a chunnin's level kenjutsu fight. Now, the blond had no problems in following Tori's movements and even managed to attempt a few hits. Of course, it wouldn't be fair to increase the level to jounin, but at least he knew that there was ground for improvement. The fight went on, until approximately 0800 hours when Tori had to present to Anbu Headquarters and Naruto had to meet his team for their first team training.

Not that he enjoyed it, but it was his obligation as a shinobi of Team 10.

Deciding to cool off a bit, Naruto went to the nearby river and gathered some water in his hands, before throwing it on his face. As he looked at his reflection on the lake, he wasn't surprised to see Sasuke's face instead of his. It happened before, he reasoned. Usually, when he finished his showers, Sasuke's face would be reflected on his bathroom mirror. Sighing in dismay, the blond left the training ground he was now in and went towards the barbeque restaurant where his team would meet. It didn't take ten minutes before he arrived only to see Chouji already there, waiting for Ino and Asuma.

"Good morning Chouji." Naruto said, surprising the Akimichi as he didn't see the blond approaching.

"Oh Naruto, you scared me…good morning as well. Did you see Ino on the way here or Asuma-sensei?" Chouji asked, before Naruto shook his head in the negative.

The conversation ended soon afterward. The two male genins remained in silence, while waiting for the rest of the team. Naruto didn't mind as he was used to being ignored. Chouji however, wasn't, hence why his head began counting the seconds in silence and cursing this situation. His ass was saved, though, when Asuma appeared from a shunshin, carrying a smile on his face. The bearded jounin looked at his team and frowned since one member was still due to arrive. He was worried that, being a fresh out of the academy genin, Ino wouldn't lose his _civilian _way of thinking. Excuses like 'I took some time choosing what to wear' of 'brushing her hair' was heavily frowned upon. Not to mention the fact that it would ruin the images of kunoichis.

Ino appeared twenty minutes late to the meeting with an excuse that she had to wait for her hair to dry, before going outside. Chouji sighed at the girl's antics, so did Asuma. Naruto, though, kept it to himself, not bothered one bit at such a sad and pathetic behavior.

* * *

**===Training Ground 10===**

Afterward, the group went towards one of the training grounds. Asuma ushered everyone to sit around him as he explained the team's routine from now on. He spent all day last night, wondering about what to teach these kids and he managed to conjure a training regimen that could benefit them greatly.

"Ok Team, first of all, I'd like to run by you our timetable until one of you becomes a chunnin or something happens that would force this team to be separated. We will start our meetings here every day at 0800 hours and I mean everyone Ino. For each delay, there will be a suitable punishment waiting for you. Now, we'll train until ten and then we'll go to the Hokage to get missions. It would be nice to settle a routine of two or three missions a day. Experience is everything in the ninja world and I want all of you to be as ready as possible. Now, regarding training, I'll set each one of you against one another in taijutsu battle, in order to see your skills and see where you need improvement. First, it's Naruto against Chouji."

The two boys of the team nodded, before falling into battle positions.

Chouji, assuming that he had the advantage in strength, quickly attacked Naruto with a straight side punch, aiming for Naruto's face. However, his speed didn't compare to Naruto's and the blond dodged the strike before Chouji could blink and landed a fierce punch on his stomach. Asuma noticed that the punch was laced with chakra, hence why Chouji lost his air instantly. He was on the ground, holding his stomach. Getting pissed off Chouji used his partial expansion jutsu, before trying his luck once more against the stoic Naruto. However, like before, Naruto just twisted his body, before landing a reverse kick on Chouji's chest. Ino was pissed upon seeing Naruto treating her friend like a punching bag and demanded that Asuma punish Naruto.

"Naruto, this is just a spar, you shouldn't have used such force against your teammates." Ino showed her arrogant smirk towards the blond, but Naruto instead went to his teammate.

"My apologies Asuma-sensei, are you alright Chouji?" Naruto apologized, surprising Chouji a bit, hence why he nodded and smiled at the blond. Asuma was surprised at the concern, before telling Naruto to face Ino in combat, while Chouji rested. Ino showed her arrogant smirk once more as in her head, she would pound Naruto into the ground for what he did against her friend. Without wasting time, Ino charged like Chouji did. This time, though, Naruto just used his effort in dodging and blocking the weak attacks. Asuma sighed in dismay at the lack of effort required in dodging Ino's attacks. He now had firm knowledge on what to focus on, regarding their taijutsu. Ninjutsu wouldn't be much of an issue, seeing as Ino and Chouji had their clan techniques. Naruto was the only one he could teach elemental jutsu, but he figured that increasing the blond's taijutsu would be more beneficial.

"Ok that's enough. I can see that all three of you needs work in perfecting your skills in taijutsu. Chouji, you have the strength needed, but you lack speed. Ino, I'm afraid, lacks speed and strength. Naruto, your taijutsu is the best amongst the three, hence why I'll be your sparring partner. However, you'll be required to fight against your teammates from time to time. Now, would each of you put these bracelets on your wrists, please?" The team nodded, before doing as instructed. Chouji managed to hold his arms still, seeing as he had strong arms. Naruto managed as well, but his unsurprised look showed that he already trained with weights before. He made a mental note to ask Kakashi everything about Naruto's training. When Ino placed the bracelets, though, she was on the floor instantly, cursing Asuma and the bracelets at the same time.

Asuma only smirked at the girl and continued with the explanation.

"These bracelets will serve to increase your strength and speed in taijutsu. It's the best way I know to help you guys. At first, it will be tough, but then you get used to it. Now, the bracelets weighs ten pounds each and in Ino's case, five. I'll be increasing it from time to time, so don't get too comfortable. Now, let's begin the fun…I mean training. Everyone, give me fifty pushups and sit-ups. After that, three laps around the training ground." Ino tried complaining once more, but she realized that doing so would only increase the torture, so she kept her mouth shut.

"You'll get it eventually Ino." Chouji said, trying to encourage her as he and Naruto started the exercise. Getting up alone was the hardest work out she ever performed as she started with the sit-ups.

* * *

**===Two hours later===**

After the end of training, Team 10 was seen walking towards the Hokage Tower for their first mission. Ino, sometime during the training, didn't have the strength and stamina necessary and fainted. That meant that Naruto and Chouji had to rotate in carrying her around, which surprisingly, no one complained. Sure, Chouji wouldn't mind, but Naruto was a surprise. In no time, the team appeared before the Hokage, before Hiruzen expressed his concern over Ino's state of health.

"Asuma, please explain why on the first day of training, one of your genins is already unconscious?" The man's tone was firm, though he was surprised to see that his son was such a slave driver.

"Well, Tou-san, Ino here has very little stamina and strength, hence why I decided to change that, through the usage of weights. She actually handled more than I thought she would. Now, I believe my team is ready for their first mission, is there any available?" Asuma smiled at his father, who in turn just sighed in dismay. He supposed it wouldn't harm anyone since the missions aren't dangerous. It was just chores posed as D-ranked missions. Now that Hiruzen looked at the situation, he smirked at his son's hidden reason. He wanted to see the genins' faces complaining about the missions.

"Ok then, Team 10's first bunch of missions. I managed to separate two missions here that your team could perform today, even considering that Ino won't be doing them. The first mission is to help an old lady who lives far from Konoha. Because of her old age, she can't just come to the village and buy her groceries, so she hired a…"

Both Naruto and Chouji looked at the Hokage like he was an alien.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama…" Naruto said, interrupting the Hokage, who in turn stopped and looked at the blond. "I thought you said we would be doing missions now. Helping an old lady with her grocery is hardly one, to begin with." Naruto concluded, receiving a nod in approval from Chouji. Both Sarutobi laughed at the question, immediately while Iruka looked at Naruto just like he did at the academy. It was the Hokage who decided to enlighten the genins.

"It seems you forgot about some lessons given at the academy Naruto-kun. Our shinobi system has five different kinds of missions, going from D to S. D-ranked are reserved for fresh out of the academy genins. Their level of difficulty is practically zero and to most is considered simple chores. C-ranked missions are reserved to experienced genins and low-level chunnins to perform. Most of them are out of the village. B and A-ranked missions are reserved for high level chunnins and jounins. Last but not least, S-ranked, which are reserved to high-level jounins and Anbu. Since your team is composed of fresh out of the academy genins, only D-ranked missions for a while, at least until your sensei deems you guys ready for a C-ranked."

Both genins looked down at the information, but nodded anyway. To Naruto, it only served to inspire him into doing more D-ranked, so that he could ask for a C-ranked later on. Chouji, though, wished that he had a bag of chips right now.

"Okay Team, let's perform these D-ranked mission, then. Tou-san, what's the second mission about?" Asuma asked, before the Hokage grabbed another scroll.

"Training Ground number 42 is littered with kunais and shurikens used by the Anbu. Your team will have to gather them all and deliver to an Anbu member which will be in front of the Anbu Headquarters. She'll be wearing an eagle mask. I trust that Team 10 already knows how to use storage scrolls?" Hiruzen asked. He knew, from Kakashi, that Naruto already learned how and he was positive that every important clan member in Konoha taught their offspring how to use them. The team nodded, before leaving the Hokage's Office. Chouji, getting tired from carrying Ino, passed her to Naruto who positioned her without any complain.

The team slowly walked throughout the populated streets of Konoha towards the market to buy the groceries for their first D-ranked mission. Unsurprisingly, almost everyone looked at the blond with disdain. Chouji noticed this and frowned. The stories he heard was that Naruto meant trouble and that he was present when the Uchiha Clan was murdered by Uchiha Itachi. He remembered that Naruto received a katon jutsu straight at his face, burning his eyes. And because Sasuke was dead, they transplanted his eyes and gave them to Naruto. Chouji wondered, though, why everyone looked at him like he was the plague, based purely on rumors that Naruto helped Itachi in killing the Uchiha Clan.

Last night, he questioned his parents and Shikamaru about it. His father told him that it was important to make his own judgment of Naruto and Shikamaru told it would be troublesome to believe what everyone said. Chouji was quite mad at him when they fought, hence why he started remembering the stories and almost believing them to be true. It all shattered when Naruto came and asked him how he was. Perhaps, Naruto wasn't all that bad. Asuma watched everything from the sideline and he saw that Chouji was in deep thought about everything. He smiled realizing that at least one had the decency to make his own observations, instead of believing in others. Ino, though, he wasn't sure if she would ever change. As the team arrived inside the market, Naruto immediately received glares from the owner and people inside, so he looked at Asuma. The man in question just laid one hand on his shoulder, ushering him and Chouji to pick up the groceries from the list.

As soon as the boys disappeared from view with their shopping karts, Asuma approached the owners, deciding to set things straight, before something bad happened.

"Ok, I noticed how you looked at my student and I won't have any of that" Said Asuma, surprising the couple behind the counter. "He is a human being just like everyone and he'll be treated fairly. If you do not comply, then the Hokage will hear of this and shut down your store. Do I make myself clear?" The fact that Asuma leaked a small amount of killing intent forced the two civilians to nod quickly, not from fear of the Hokage shutting the store down, but for their lives. Afterward, he just stood there in front of the counter as he waited for the two genins with the items requested by the client. It took both half an hour to go over the entire list, before they stopped next to Asuma. The jounin paid for everything, before giving the bag to Chouji, since Naruto was taking care of an unconscious Ino.

As they left the store, Asuma wondered if would be prudent to stop at the hospital after the first mission. Ino was taking too long to wake up and he was beginning to worry. If something happened to her, then both the Hokage and Inoichi would blame him for it. Thankfully, the blond kunoichi stirred on Naruto's back, before opening her eyes. The last thing she remembered was running the laps with the weights and almost closing her eyes. When she noticed that she was being carried by Naruto, she immediately jumped from his back.

"What are you doing to me, you pervert?" Ino shouted, while pointing accusing finger at Naruto. Before Naruto could explain, though, Asuma interrupted him.

"You passed out Ino. Therefore, both Chouji and Naruto took turns in carrying you around. After the training, we went to the Hokage and received two D-ranked missions. The first is almost over and you can help your teammates with the second one." The girl was at first embarrassed at screaming at Naruto calling him a pervert, but then she remembered the boy's reputation and just marched closer to Chouji. The fact that she didn't even say thanks to Naruto for carrying her around was appalling to Asuma and he would definitely talk to her about it when the missions were finished.

Naruto just ignored her and followed behind Asuma as they arrived at the old lady's house to deliver the groceries. When the door opened up, the old lady appeared. She wore a black and red kimono and had the warmest smile. However, when she saw Naruto, she narrowed her eyes, before grabbing the groceries from Chouji's hand and shutting the door with as much force as possible. Once more, Naruto ignored it and walked away. Chouji, though, wondered why such a sweet old lady would look at Naruto like that. Ino, though, didn't care and followed Asuma. As he followed the team, Chouji looked at the blond and wondered why he wasn't bothered by how the others were looking at him.

_He acts like he doesn't care…People gave him the same treatment close to three years now. Maybe, he got accustomed to the situation. _

Chouji compared said treatment to everyone calling him fat and was pissed immediately. All of this based on what? A mere rumor and that he now carries Sasuke's eyes? There was something wrong in this picture and he somehow knew it.

* * *

**===Training Ground 42===**

When the team arrived at the training ground, they looked at the mess created by the Anbu. It was like the aftermath of a bloody war, with shurikens, kunais, swords, all types of weapons littered on the ground. Since she wasn't awake at the time, she didn't know what her team was supposed to do.

"Asuma-sensei, what are we supposed to do here?"

Asuma remembered that Ino wasn't awake at the time and he could see her face of horror when she heard of the mission objective. He just wished he had a camera to show Inoichi afterward.

"Well, the mission is simple Ino. We just have to gather everything and take it back to the Anbu." The look on her face was enough to warrant a great deal of laughter from the seasoned jounin and he just wished that he had a photo to remember this moment of pure victory over his genins. "What are you guys waiting for? The sun will be up for about one hour. You have until sunset to collect everything, get to it" He smirked upon hearing Ino's protests. Little by little, the three genins collected a great load of projectiles, before dropping it on top of the huge scroll that Asuma opened to seal everything. Throughout the exercise, Ino's scream was constantly heard by the others, seeing as she tried catching too many kunais and one usually slipped from her hands, cutting her arm. Apart from this, though, the team managed to collect everything just as the sun began its descent.

"Okay team, let's just deliver the scroll to the Anbu officer and go home afterward." Asuma said, as he strapped the scroll on his back and walked casually towards the Hokage Tower, while the genins followed suit. Ino was busy nurturing the kunai wounds from her arms.

"Sensei, can I go home now? I don't have any medical kit with me." Ino asked, earning a nod from her sensei.

"You are free to go, however tomorrow I wish to talk to you Ino, regarding something very important. Chouji, please escort her home, just in case." The two friends nodded, before leaving. Chouji was the only one who told Naruto goodbye, quite surprising to the blond, but he managed to bid Chouji goodbye in return.

"You seem surprised that someone would befriend you, Naruto?" Asuma asked as they walked towards the Anbu Headquarters.

"More like intrigued to the fact that Chouji was the first amongst my age that didn't believe in rumors. Of course, he wouldn't do what he did if he knew the entire truth about me. All he knows is what happened with the Uchiha clan…" Asuma knew what Naruto was talking about and frowned in realization. He saw hope in Chouji's actions, but now that Naruto reminded him, none of them knew about the Kyuubi no Yoko inside the blond. He didn't know how Chouji would react, since the fox killed a great deal of clan members from the Akimichi Clan.

"Now, I assume you had a reason for sending Chouji along with Ino? Her wounds weren't life threatening…"

_Huh, this kid…he's like a miniature Kakashi._

"I just wanted to see how you're handling your interaction with your teammates. From what Kakashi told me, this is the first time you interacted with anyone your age and Ino's behavior was beyond disappointing." Asuma wanted to assure Naruto that he would be there for him in that regard. Naruto must know that he could count on him and even Chouji in the future. Who knows, maybe the fact that Naruto was a jinchuuriki wouldn't bother the Akimichi so much. Naruto, though, remained neutral to the question. It didn't bother him that Ino couldn't see beyond what was told to her.

"There's nothing to worry about Asuma-sensei, I'm perfectly fine." Asuma frowned at the lack of will to talk about the subject, but figured that just pressuring his student would be counter-productive to his goal.

Therefore, the two walked in silence and arrived in front of the Anbu Headquarters as soon as the sky changed its color to black. A lone Anbu was there, with the eagle mask just like the Hokage said. It was clearly a woman by the size of her long dark blue hair. Naruto was quite surprised at the size of it. It went all the way to her thighs. Not to mention that Naruto saw great development while sizing her out, on a subconscious level. Asuma only smiled at the blond, after seeing the boy staring at the kunoichi Anbu. The boy may be a bit reserved for his age, but he at least he had hormones like any normal member of the species. He now knew that what he could talk to him about. The Anbu for her part looked at the brat in front of her and didn't enjoy that he was drooling at her.

"Hey little brat, either you stop staring at me, or I'll make you!" Her tone was harsh and the blond complied instantly, although he didn't know what he did wrong. How could he? The majority of his interaction with other women was carrying an unconscious Ino around.

"Okay Eagle, here is the scroll with your weapons. I'm sure my student here won't do it again, right Naruto?" He didn't know much about things in general, but he knew when it was time to simply nod and play dumb. The kunoichi Anbu nodded and vanished soon afterward, with the scroll. Asuma smirked at his first day as a jounin-sensei. He had some mental shots taken of his genins doing D-ranked missions. He already scared one of them with his method of training and now he saw his incredibly skilled genin drool at an Anbu Kunoichi. If this day were any better, Kurenai would appear, asking for a date. Looking at the blond, he just dismissed the blond for tomorrow, before he turned and left. The blond kept thinking about what happened and wondering what he had done wrong. _One thing that I would agree with that Shikamaru person…women are troublesome; first Ino, now this Anbu kunoichi._

As soon as he turned to go home, he saw both Kakashi and Kasumi walking towards him while holding hands. As soon as Naruto saw the pair, He greeted them and, immediately, engaged in a conversation. Naruto started talking about his day and the joy of D-ranked missions. He cursed both for not warning him ahead of time, while Kakashi and Kasumi smiled. Naruto also told him about his teammates and how, surprisingly, Chouji bid him goodbye, genuinely. The jounins, like Asuma, were happy that at least one was able to look past the rumors. It certainly was a work in progress, but perhaps, Naruto may end up with at least someone he could call a friend.

"I'm glad that not everyone your age believes in rumors, so what about the other teammate, the Yamanaka?" Kasumi asked, practically knowing the answer to her own question.

"She is the same as the others, though I'm not bothered by her actions. So, are you two on a date?" Both Kakashi and Kasumi acknowledged the blond's attempt of changing the subject, but none of them pressured him. They both knew that when it came to personal questions, Naruto preferred avoiding them all the time. Still, if he wanted to improve as a shinobi, Naruto would have to learn how to socialize a little better, seeing as he would be tagged with other ninjas for missions in the future.

"Kakashi promised to take me out for some sushi." The blond smiled, which was a rare feat in itself. In fact, Kakashi and Kasumi were the only ones to whom Naruto had intimacy with.

"Well, don't let me keep you, then." Both jounins nodded and said their goodbyes to Naruto, who in turn went to his small apartment. He had a scroll full of earth techniques and a bucket of instant ramen waiting for him back home.

* * *

**===The next day===**

Naruto woke up at the same time as yesterday for his kenjutsu practice. However, upon arriving at the training ground, he saw a Kunai on a tree nearby, holding a note. Upon close inspection, Naruto sighed seeing as it was a note from Tori. Apparently, his team was busy all day and he wouldn't have time to spar with Naruto. Naruto shrugged it off and placed his sword inside a scroll he took that was inside his kunai holster. Seeing as his plan had changed, Naruto decided to practice the earth techniques he studied last night. Until now, Naruto learned to use doton ninjutsu only for defensive purposes. The inner decapitation jutsu wasn't exactly offensive, as the only thing he did was trapping the enemy below the ground. The scroll, elaborated by Kakashi, related C and B-ranked earth techniques for him to learn. Last night, he focused his attention on two:

_**Doton Doryuusou**__ (Earth Release: Earth Rising Spears Technique)_

_**Doton Ganban Kyuu**__ (Earth Release: Rock Plate Coffin Technique)_

Both techniques required expanding his chakra throughout the ground towards a specific area, meaning he couldn't do both techniques in mid-air or on top of a lake, for instance. He could either slam both hands on the ground or use his feet, though he figured that using his feet would be faster in the middle of the battlefield. He just needed to use the tree walking exercise in conjunction to molding earth chakra. Another problem was the enemy's distance and how to use the technique accordingly. Immediately going over the hand seals, Naruto tried the first one. However and much to his frustration, only one single spike erupted from the ground and right in front of him. He needed to focus on two things, how many chakra would be needed for a full ten spikes, like the scroll said and how to make it erupt further away. This time, pumping more chakra, he smiled upon seeing eight spikes erupting from the ground in front of him. He recorded the amount of chakra needed and tried once more. This time, he tried using his hands on the ground and expanded his chakra throughout the earth and was surprised when the spikes erupted close to ten meters away from him.

The blond supposed it was a work in progress as he now changed to the second technique. The second one, like the first, demanded the distance control. However, he didn't need to focus on molding the earth into spikes.

The technique consisted of creating three plates of rock, before sending them into collision course with one another. The unlucky enemy would be crushed immediately. It required a long series of hand seals, though, but by a difference of three hand seals. After finishing the sequence with the snake hand seal, Naruto smiled upon seeing the pillars of rock emerge from the ground and crashing with one another. The distance part of the technique required more practice, but at least he managed to mold the technique accordingly. With the second one almost covered, the blond returned to the first technique for a while. He was happy upon managing to use his feet, instead of his hands, to send chakra below ground, however no matter how much he tried, he couldn't mold the spikes and make them erupt at a distance at the same time.

Deciding that it was enough training for doton, Naruto now went through his fire techniques. It was important to learn new ones, but it was also important to practice the ones he already knew.

* * *

**===Team training===**

Two hours later, Naruto went to the training ground where he met his team for training. Chouji and Ino were already there, but only Chouji greeted him. Naruto, however, greeted both, but Ino only snorted in annoyance.

Naruto wondered if perhaps questioning her about the reason behind her behavior would change anything, but shrugged it off once Asuma arrived.

"Good morning my sweet little genins; it's nice that you graced us with your presence early this time Ino. Now, seeing as Ino can't take the regime from yesterday, her workout will be reduced for the time being. Therefore, Chouji and Naruto will do the full circuit while Ino will do half. Afterward, we are going to do an interesting new exercise." Naruto, Chouji and Ino started their exercises without complaining this time. Ino finished hers faster, since Asuma reduced her workout. He did this for two reasons. First, he didn't want her to faint once more and second, he wanted to talk to her about Naruto.

"Nice work Ino, now I'd like to have a word with you while the boys finish their exercises." Ino nodded, though a part of her knew that she wouldn't like the subject.

"What did you want to talk about Asuma-sensei?"

"Ino, your behavior towards your teammate reached my attention and I'd like to know why you treat Naruto the way you do?"

Ino knew that this time would come. After all, she never tried hiding her feelings against her teammate. Asuma was looking at her and the look of disappointment was evident. She just smiled, though, and innocently asked.

"What about my behavior towards Naruto, Asuma-sensei?" The bearded shinobi hardened his gaze towards the blonde kunoichi, causing her to back off slightly.

"As sensei of Team 10, it's my duty to prepare you three to the best of my ability so that if any need arise, you guys would be able to trust each other, thus protect each other. This is the base of Konoha's strength and it won't change anytime soon. Why do you treat him like he's just a plague that walks among us, when he never did anything to you?"

"Of course, he did nothing to me, sensei. But he was there when the Uchiha Clan was slaughtered. He was there and killed everyone, along with Uchiha Itachi. I can't believe that people are allowing him to roam among us, after what he has done. I also can't believe that you're even asking why I treat him like this" The way she spoke carried such confidence that it looked like she knew the truth.

Asuma's respect for the Yamanaka Clan just lowered a couple notches.

"Ino, how do you know what really happened that night?" The first question caused her to wonder, but Asuma continued. "Did you witness the events?" To the second question, Ino only responded with a timid head shake, saying 'no'. "So how can you be so sure that Naruto was the one who killed the Uchiha Clan? He was the same age as you at that time; he was but an academy student with dead-last grades and pretty much half the village wasn't sure if he would ever manage to pass the academy. Therefore, how could he defeat not one member but the entire Uchiha Clan?"

Now that Ino thought about it, she never once bothered to learn the real truth of what happened. She just trusted what perhaps the entire village talked about. And surprisingly, everyone had the same opinion of what happened. Asuma saw that he managed to show his point to the young Yamanaka, so now it was time to soften the blow and close his argument. It was never his intention to slam the truth to her face, but rather train her mind to think like a shinobi. Of course, he wasn't expecting to change her mind over this matter so soon. After all, you just don't change your way of thinking overnight.

"Ino, I'm not saying that you should never believe what others say about something or someone. I only ask that you interpret the situation like a shinobi. It's always nice to ask questions and you must always see the variables of the situation. Chouji made the same mistake you had and right now, he's questioning his beliefs as well. If you wish, you could ask Naruto about it. I'm sure he'll provide you what really happened to him and why he was there at the time of the slaughter. Now, I believe the boys already finished their exercises, so if you wish, we can talk later".

She nodded, just as Chouji and Naruto appeared by her flanks. All three of them eyed Asuma as he had a smile on his face.

"As I was telling Ino, Konoha's strength is based on our teamwork, it's our ability to work in teams that we managed to survive this long as the strongest hidden village of the elemental nations. Therefore, today, we'll be training Team 10's teamwork skills. For that, you three will be facing your sensei, together. The objective of the exercise is to land a hit on me. Now, you three will have ten to fifteen minutes to talk between you, regarding your skills and to settle on a strategy against me. Remember; though, in the battlefield, the enemy won't give you time to plan ahead. I'm just doing this because it's your first time fighting together. We'll be doing this exercise two times a week. Now, feel free to talk and then let me know when you wish to begin."

As soon as Asuma stopped talking, he saw the three genins huddling up, what he could imagine, in order to discuss their strategies.

Ino, Chouji and Naruto looked at each other, not entirely sure of what to talk about. Naruto never had much interaction with people his age other than the occasional greeting. Chouji was slowly adapting to the fact that Naruto may not be what everyone say. Ino, although conflicted with herself, wasn't necessarily convinced that she was wrong. Sure, she answered 'no' to every of Asuma's questions regarding Naruto's involvement that night. Now, if he was actually innocent as few said he is, then why did the majority of the population consider him guilty of something that wasn't proven? As a passionate gossiper, Ino enjoyed digging into people's lives. The only problem was that she was too trusting in what others said and didn't investigate it further to discover whether or not Naruto was responsible for the vile act made against the Uchiha Clan. So, she supposed that for now, she would give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Alright then, since we don't know each other that well, aside from the fact that Chouji and I practically grew up together, I suppose it's best for each to tell our skills. Naruto, you go first." Naruto narrowed his eyebrows, at first, but shrugged it off.

"I have knowledge of fire and earth jutsu and a limited knowledge on genjutsu. Taijutsu against Asuma-sensei would be irrelevant. Also from what I understood from both the Yamanaka and Akimichi Clans, you two work well together, so it would be prudent to devise a strategy using your coordinated prowess. In which the case being close, mid or long range, I can provide the necessary support." Naruto didn't much care about sharing custody over the team's leadership or berate the people he was going to work together with for quite a while. The least he could do, then, was to be supportive and not exert his superiority in skills. Ino and Chouji, though, looked at him like he was saying non-sense. Elemental ninjutsu was so far out of their reach of knowledge, so they wondered how Naruto knew two elements. Nevertheless, they figured that, if Naruto was telling the truth, then they had an advantage over their opponent.

Fifteen minutes passed and Asuma was alone in the middle of a clearing, with his arms crossed. It was hard to predict which sort of attack would come from this team, seeing as all three of them were different from the other. Chouji had his brute strength and the Akimichi Clan jutsus, which focused on expanding their body parts and using it to attack the opponent. Ino's clan techniques were more focused on the mind, or rather the opponent's mind. Both Ino and Chouji, even together, would be ineffective against someone with knowledge on their techniques. Ino's techniques are restricted and so were Chouji's. Without a third party to back them up, surely one of them would be dead in the battlefield. Here was where Naruto came in, he supposed. Being a jack of all trades as he believed the kid to be, he could adjust to any strategy the team might conjure. In all fairness, the blond was an Uchiha with limitless amount of chakra.

All of a sudden, five projectiles appeared in his line of sight, before he grabbed one of his and deflected the projectiles effortlessly. He didn't have to wait long, before he saw Chouji expanding his entire body and rotating towards him like a tank. Asuma was about to jump away from the technique when he sensed two hands grabbing both his legs, before bringing him underground. Asuma looked at the approaching tank and used a simple replacement technique to get out of the way. He didn't have much room to breathe, before more kunais and this time shurikens came at him. Focusing on a simple wind technique, Asuma focused a small draft of wind in front of him that blew the projectiles away, just as he saw Ino from the corner of his eyes, forming the sign for the Shintenshin no Jutsu and dodged slightly with a smirk, while charging straight at the frightened Ino, who saw her attack being dodged so easily.

Before he even began to reach within striking distance, Naruto suddenly appeared in front of her doing hand seals, before transforming the air gathered inside his lungs into fire.

_**Katon Dai Endan**_ _(Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)_

Asuma winded his eyes as soon as he was enveloped by the technique, since Naruto couldn't have known such a strong fire technique. He made a mental note to have a serious conversation with Kakashi, once this was over. All the man said was that Naruto only began learning elemental ninjutsu. Asuma wasn't able to ponder further when a giant fist came straight at him. He managed to dodge the attack, before he charged Chouji with plain taijutsu once more. However, once more Naruto proved that Kakashi was just screwing with him. Asuma was about to attack Chouji, when three earth pillars circled Asuma. The seasoned jounin knew which technique this was from previous fights against Rock-nins. He knew what usually happened right after the pillars surrounded the enemy and he didn't want Naruto to have any ideas. The man found it reasonable to end the exercise, unless the blond wanted to test more dangerous techniques against him.

"Okay, that's it for now guys. Great job all of you, managing to fight as a team is hard work and you three managed to impress me. However, if this was a real fight, then I wouldn't be as _passive _as I was just now. Next time, I'll increase the stakes a bit. However, you three are on the right track. Ino and Chouji work well together and for what I've seen, you acted as their support from afar, right Naruto?" The question was more like an affirmation, but Naruto nodded anyway. "Now, let's go and take some missions with the Hoka…" Asuma stopped when he heard Chouji's stomach growling like a beast.

"Well, I believe it's best if we had some lunch, first. To the Barbeque Place, then" Naruto and Ino weren't as enthused as Chouji upon hearing that they would have some lunch, which earned a warm laughter from Asuma.

The team started out rough, but they were on the right track now. Even though Ino and Chouji had their reservations concerning the events that surrounded the Uchiha Massacre, both managed to set that aside and work together with someone they always believed as being a criminal. Asuma sure had his work cut out for him, but after watching the fight, he knew that, in the right circumstances, team 10 could very well be a force to be recognized in the future. Tonight, he would conjure a different set of training for each of his three genins. _I did the right thing, asking Tou-san for a team of genins._

* * *

**Author Note**

For those who believed that the story would be drama and angst the entire time, thought wrong. Like always, things gets worse, before it gets better.

Now that Ino and Chouji are wondering about the _real _truth behind Naruto being at the Uchiha Clan, their interaction will improve with time. Of course, there will be obstacles up ahead, but nothing that a team can't manage together.

Furthermore, who is the Anbu and what relation she'll have with the story? That's an answer for a later date.

Tell me what you think.

See ya!


	8. Team 10

**Author Note**

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes.

Last chapter, I focused more on developing team 10's teamwork, more precisely regarding Ino and Chouji's preconceptions of their teammate. It's not to say that they overcame it all the way, but at least they gave Naruto the benefit of the doubt. Also, last chapter, I've introduced a new character, which will play a more central role in the upcoming chapters later on. For those who don't know who I'm talking about, here is the hint, she wears a mask. Anyway, read last chapter once more and you'll figure it out.

Now, this chapter will be the bridge towards the beginning of the Wave Arc.

Here it goes.

* * *

**Chapter 8 – Team 10**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

It'd been a couple months since Team 10's first D-ranked missions and Sarutobi Asuma couldn't be more proud of his little genins. Akimichi Chouji managed to increase his speed because of the bracelets. The boy even learned new jutsus from his clan that, if used accordingly, would give a lot of trouble to his opponents. Chouji went as far as to follow Naruto's speed for a couple of minutes and even managed to dodge a few hits from the non-Uchiha Sharingan user. Granted that Naruto never used his eyes against his teammates, but it was an improvement nonetheless. Chouji's weights increased more, but Asuma was confident that he would get accustomed to it in no time.

Yamanaka Ino evolved as well, regarding her taijutsu. After constant pressure from Asuma and her father, she focused more on increasing her strength and speed. What generated her interest the most was the fact that Naruto managed to dodge all her attempts with a bored expression on his face. It was infuriating and she used this energy to increase her stamina and speed. Still, she couldn't land a hit on him, but at least she was faster than before. Like Chouji, she also got training from her father regarding the clan's jutsus. She practiced the Shintenshin further, learning to adapt the technique in stress situations. Now, she was learning the next one called **shinraishin no jutsu**. It consisted of disrupting the opponent's control over his or her body, forcing him or her to do things like attack the opponent's partner.

Naruto's growth wasn't so surprising, considering that according to Kakashi, the genin already had mastery over two elements, which would only be vital once he became a jounin.

Kakashi didn't focus much on the Sharingan or the fact that Naruto's were already evolved to three toms. He managed that after one heated spar against Kakashi two weeks ago.

His taijutsu was more refined due to his constant spars against Asuma. Also, as the boy's sensei later found out, Naruto had been practicing the hidden art of kenjutsu with an Anbu member codenamed 'Tori' every day before the team practices. It somewhat surprised him that his stamina made up for both practices. One time, he decided to wake up early and see Naruto's skills with the sword and what he saw, just wasn't right. He rephrased it, it couldn't be right. Tori, he knew, was an accomplished swordsman inside the Anbu. However, upon seeing him sparring with Asuma's student, he was surprised to see that Naruto was keeping up with the man. Of course, Naruto's Sharingan was activated, but that alone didn't diminished his skills.

As far as teamwork was concerned, Asuma deemed acceptable, for the time, the strategy created by the team. Even if Naruto was by far the strongest, he would always be the support of the team, leaving Ino and Chouji to the front lines. At first, it wasn't as effective, because well Ino wasn't focused on attacking others, leaving Chouji alone to face the enemy, with Naruto backing him up just in case. With time, the strategy bore fruit , as Ino saw the opportunity given by her teammate and improved her skills with projectiles and her taijutsu. Also, Naruto managed to anticipate the enemy's movements quite well. He would step in once he realized that either Chouji or Ino wouldn't be able to avoid the attack. Still, Asuma gave his insight from time to time, placing Naruto and Chouji on the offensive with Ino as support with her projectiles. Chouji was the only one of the team with no knowledge, or even familiarity, of fighting in long range, hence why he was always placed up front as far as teamwork was concerned.

It was his clan's specialty after all, so he never complained.

The last thing that changed between the team was their interaction. Two months served to dim Ino and Chouji's misconceptions of their teammate and now the only thing they didn't approve of was Naruto's distant attitude towards them. He always asked them questions, he never took action alone, even though he could very well cover for the entire team. However, he didn't hang out with either of them, after team training or missions. Both Asuma and Kakashi tried talking to him, but the genin always gave them the same answer. Naruto's theory was that both Ino and Chouji didn't know about the other truth about him. It was quite frustrating how Naruto used the Kyuubi as an excuse, but neither could ascertain whether or not Naruto's hypothesis would come true. The Kyuubi was responsible for many deaths and that included both Akimichi and Yamanaka shinobi. So, as the jounin responsible, Asuma decided to increase the amount of missions of the team, so that they could participate in tougher missions and possibly develop a much deeper bond.

His attempt wasn't unheard of as ninjas, with similar sufferings, could better relate with one another.

Right now, after returning from their fourth D-ranked mission of the day, Asuma saw it fit to see if there was another mission for his team. Since their formation, Team 10 performed close to three missions a day, finishing the impressive amount of forty by the end of the last month. They would break the village's record if the Hokage's warm heart wasn't in the way. The old man, seeing team 10's impressive records, gave them all a ten day vacation. Right now, they were finishing their 55th mission, which actually was for the Hyuuga Clan. An important member of the main branch required a team to deliver a scroll to a weapon smith, whose office was located a few miles outside of the village gates. It wasn't considered C-ranked, because it was still within the village's perimeter. Once they delivered the scroll, the man handed a black case to Asuma, containing a gift to said member of the Hyuuga Clan. Despite having increased her stamina, Ino was against the idea of yet another mission.

"Sensei, we are already at the end of the forth mission today. Can't we go home for the day, I'm exhausted?"

Naruto and Chouji remained quiet while Ino and Asuma were talking. The first, though, didn't mind another mission much, considering that he didn't have anything to do besides that. Chouji, on the other hand, wished that Asuma gave in and sent them home. Despite improving a lot, the Akimichi still maintained his old habit. Their sensei sighed in dismay, seeing that his plan backfired. According to his experience, the Hokage would consider his team ready for C-ranked missions after two maybe three more missions. But Ino was right; he was already pushing them harder than usual.

"Alright Ino, after we deliver this to the Hyuuga Clan, the team is dismissed."

A sudden smile appeared on her face at the possibility of a great bed to rest in after today's training and missions. It wasn't long until the mission was finished, before the members said goodbye to one another. Naruto shrugged it off and, with hands inside his pocket, roamed towards his apartment at a slow pace. Despite not being late, the street he was in was rather empty, considering the number of restaurants and pubs. The scene alone was strange to him as he activated his Sharingan briefly and realized the reason. He just resumed walking, though, like he was not aware of the danger that was looking at the genin from the roofs. The lone chunnin loathed Naruto, since the Kyuubi attack. The beast devoured his little sister, at the time. He didn't even had time to get her out of the way and since then, he trained hard every day, so that one day, he would avenge her death. Almost everyone was inside the restaurants right now, leaving the street empty for a clean execution.

The man casted an altering perception genjutsu, so that once his attack hits, Naruto wouldn't be able to dodge. The kunai was sent flying straight at Naruto's back, before piercing it all the way to his chest.

The chunnin, then, vanished from his position, before appearing right in front of his target. He cursed at a tree log that was in Naruto's place. The chunnin was clueless when Naruto, from below the ground, grabbed both his ankles and dragged his entire body below ground. The chunnin was surprised once the blond appeared in front of him, looking at this face with appearent boredom like always. The chunnin's name was Ishizaki, no clan related, and he was 28 years old. He, suddenly, saw Naruto's Sharingan eyes spinning like a vortex, until the man's eyes were closed. Naruto had seen the genjutsu with his Sharingan and immediately dispelled it.

Upon opening his eyes, the chunnin was surprised to see a bunch of kids pointing at him while laughing hysterically. He didn't know how he ended up there, in the first place.

Naruto watched this from the top of the roof and turned to leave, however he was stopped once Kakashi appeared and placed a hand on his shoulder. His only visible eye showed concern, whereas Naruto's eyes showed disinterest.

"It wasn't so surprising right, Kakashi-sensei? At least, I didn't cause him much damage besides being humiliated like that." Kakashi nodded.

"Do you wish to press charges against him? Attacking a low-ranking officer is a serious charge and he could be placed in prison." Naruto, though, didn't want this.

"No, it won't be necessary, Kakashi-sensei. I'm already used to this treatment. I'm sure it will fade with time. Until then, I can handle it." It wasn't the best answer he could give as it further increased Kakashi's concern for Naruto.

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should Naruto. You know that…" The boy only shrugged and turned his back towards his sensei.

"As witness of what happened, you could take action Kakashi-sensei. I won't, though." After that, he vanished using a shunshin. The jounin sighed in dismay and vanished as well. Naruto was right; he could tell the Hokage that one of his chunnins attacked a genin. Not just as witness, but because he was a jounin as well. However, he supposed that Naruto did the right thing, by erasing the man's memory of what really happened. This way, he wouldn't remember what happened. He supposed it was best to have to talk to Asuma about it, though. He is Naruto's sensei after all.

* * *

**===Next day===**

It became routine between Naruto and Tori to meet early in the morning and practice kenjutsu together. To the man, it was considered good practice, considering that he was up against a Sharingan user. Despite his superior skill, Naruto's eyes could follow his movements, due to the fact that he managed to reach the final stage of the Sharingan. It didn't mean that Naruto was useless without the eye, as he could see that Naruto's strikes were increasing fast. The spar was progressing nicely, almost developing into a showdown between swordsmen. However, it was time for Tori to end the training, as he sensed one member of his team approaching. With brute strength, he forced Naruto to lose his footing, leaving him open for a front kick that sent the boy flying. Naruto managed to flip his body using the momentum, despite the pain on his chest.

As soon as he looked at his sparring partner, Naruto was surprised that another Anbu had joined the party. And it was the same Anbu from two months ago. He recognized the long blue hair.

"Naruto, it appears that we must end the spar for today. Same time tomorrow?" The blond just nodded, before hiding his sword once more. The eagle masked Anbu remembered the brat from two months prior and decided to have some fun.

"Finally learn to respect your superiors, kid?" The eagle Anbu asked, earning a questioned look from Tori as Naruto turned to look at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Anbu-san. Tori-sensei, see you tomorrow…" Naruto, then, turned and walked away, leaving an infuriated Anbu who didn't enjoy being ignored. Despite this, if she ever showed that the brat got to her, she would no doubt be the laughing stock inside the corporation. She heard a small snicker coming from her superior Tori. Probably, she was already too late in avoiding her fear, she reasoned. Eagle, then, vanished and went to look for the kid, seeing as, being a junior Anbu, her mission was to scout around the village. It took a while, before she saw him purchasing a few sticks of dango, possibly, for breakfast and took a seat below a Sakura tree. Being privy to confidential documents, she had access to Naruto's file and was interested. Because of the Kyuubi and the rumor behind the Uchiha clan's massacre, Naruto received several attacks by chunnins. Despite this, he managed to defeat them with the use of the Sharingan eyes.

Eagle sort of admired the kid's will to fight despite the odds.

"Are you stalking my student Anbu-san?" Eagle was already on edge, but relaxed once she saw Asuma standing behind her.

"I'm not obliged to explain myself, Asuma-sempai. I'll take my leave now…" Eagle said, before she vanished, earning a snicker from the jounin. He, then, analyzed Naruto for a bit. It was strange to see the boy so at peace with himself, despite its cold exterior towards others. Perhaps after years of being ignored by others, he ended up getting accustomed to it. Asuma feared that Naruto enjoyed being left alone. He left before Naruto could turn and see him, despite knowing that Naruto saw the entire thing. The jounin was correct, though, since Naruto's Sharingan was activated the entire time and he was able to feel the trace of chakra from both the Anbu and his jounin-sensei nearby. He didn't say anything at the time, but he really wished to be left alone.

* * *

**===At Training Ground 10===**

Once everyone was gathered, Asuma decided to change their routine for today.

Today it was time for chakra control exercises, instead of just taijutsu and stamina training. However, when Naruto said that he already had tree climbing, as well as water walking mastered, Asuma frowned and cursed Kakashi once more for not telling him that. He knew that Ino and Chouji had been training in chakra control with their families a bit, but not the tree climbing exercise. He decided that Naruto would practice a much advanced form of chakra control, consisted of suspending a kunai on top of his hand, using just his chakra. While he was doing this, he taught Ino and Chouji the tree climbing exercise. The team spent the majority of the morning, practicing chakra control. Ino's chakra capacity was much higher than before, hence why it took quite a while for her to run out of chakra. Still, Ino managed to master the exercise after five attempts.

Chouji took longer, but by the end of the exercise, he managed to cover a large distance. Naruto managed to keep the kunai suspended for about ten minutes, before he couldn't any longer. This exercise involved continuous bursts of chakra and strong ones at that, to carry the heavy metal over his hand. As such, the strain on the chakra coils was too much for a genin, even one of Naruto's skill. Asuma knew that, though. He wanted to test how far Naruto's skills progressed and to see that he managed up to ten minutes, before tiring, was impressive. After a small break, the team went to the Hokage's office and picked up a mission. Unfortunately, for Asuma, most of the D-ranked missions were already taken, meaning that his team would finish their day early. He figured that after the mission, they could focus on some teamwork exercises. After his team left from the Hokage's office, his father asked him to stay for a while.

"Asuma, starting tomorrow, team 10 will be assigned to C-ranked missions. It still baffles me why neither of them contested much from doing them, but they've earned it." Asuma smiled at his father, before leaving the office.

He met his team outside the Hokage's office building and quickly relayed the mission to them. It was quite surprising the contents of the mission, because it was considered D-ranked. They were supposed to hunt a group of low-level thugs that were causing havoc on the village's poorest neighborhood. This job was normally meant for Anbus, but the Hokage figured that sending high level shinobi to beat low level thugs were a bit of overkill. They could very well be dealt with by genin level shinobi. It was the first mission that involved actual fighting and all three members were quite eager about it, especially Naruto for some reason. Little did everyone know that the blond was on the verge of exploding in front of the Hokage because of these so called D-ranked missions. He smiled upon hearing from his sensei that starting tomorrow, his team would receive C-ranked missions.

That meant that his hard work paid off in the end.

Travelling towards the neighborhood took little time as the team settled to observe the area a bit. Normally, this place was reserved for bandits and rapists. It represented the dark side of Konoha and the aura around the vicinity was rather cold for comfort. It was like the team had entered a cold cave and Ino was already shivering. Asuma knew this much, because he passed by here on occasions, once he was a chunnin. This area hadn't changed much since then and he doubted that it would change any time soon. The population roamed freely throughout the crowded and littered street. Their mission was to capture a gang of bandits that were accused of starting a new drug point in Fire Country.

The mission, although relatively easy from the ninja stand point, had a lot of variables. This area was forsaken by the shinobi population, so if anyone showed up, people would be suspicious and the gang would flee, or worse, take hostages.

It was imperative that the team didn't appear as shinobis, hence why Asuma instructed them to take off the headbands for later use. With that done, they split up in twos, Naruto with Chouji and Ino with Asuma. Obviously, the jounin used a minor henge to change his clothes, since he was the only one with the standard Konoha ninja uniform. They were only supposed to look around and observe the population for a couple of hours. The drug dealers weren't that good in hiding their activity, probably because they believed the area to be of no interest to the Hokage. Despite that being the case, the Hokage realized his omission and called in team 10 to clean up the location so to speak. Although it was considered a forsaken zone, there was no heavy crime being committed, like murder, because if that were the case, Anbu would come and sweep the entire area. The boys appeared to be chatting amongst themselves, while looking around for clues as to the gang's activities or, if they're lucky, their hideout.

The condition of the villagers was below poverty, if the street's condition was any indication. The houses were almost on the verge of collapsing due to lack of maintenance and the only attempt at commerce was a local magazine shop that happened to be closed. Apparently, no self-respected business man would want to invest in this place, at least not before Team 10 dealt with the drug dealers. After walking for about an hour, the boys met their sensei and their teammate at the same place where they separated. Naruto reported to Asuma that they had little luck in finding anything. However, the triumphant look on Ino's face showed a different story on their part.

"We saw a man selling ten grams of opium as soon as we separated and we followed him to a dark alley. Ino, then, used her clan's jutsu and gathered enough information about the gang's activity here. She also hit the jack pot. We know their hideout's location."

The boys nodded and even congratulated Ino for a job well done, which she appreciated. Chouji's complement wasn't such news as Naruto was and it still surprised her how he could be this nice while on missions and completely distant afterwards. Asuma decided to just lay low for a while, until night time. According to the Intel, the gang would have a big meeting tonight regarding their operation and how much money will be split between the dealers. It was the perfect opportunity to swoop in and beat the crap out of them, until no one was left standing. Both Naruto and Chouji would handle this part as he had a different plan for Ino. Their unwillingly source gave them the identity of the gang leader. With the Shintenshin, she will command his body and walk straight at the authorities, confessing every one of his crimes. Takeshi's rule of terror would meet his end tonight. There wasn't any need for the team to remain there the entire time, though, so Asuma took his team for a quick meal located on Konoha's merchant district.

Asuma turned to Naruto and decided to ask to the boy, hence leader of the team, what would be his strategy to beat everyone along with Chouji.

"I'll sneak inside the house and cut the lights off. When the lights go off, it will be Chouji's signal to barge inside the house with his Human Bullet Tank Technique. With that alone, he would be able to deal with quite a few of the criminals. I'll, then, enter the fight and knock the rest down with taijutsu. I'll leave the leader untouched for Ino to take possession of his body. At least, that's what I was thinking about doing Asuma-sensei. Is that ok?" The bearded jounin just smirked as he flipped his cigarette from the left side to the right side of his mouth. He was sure that Naruto would use either fire or earth jutsus, hence why he would have to bring in another strategy. He smiled at the blond.

"I think that's ok Naruto. Just don't take any chances. We don't know if any of these goons had ninja training or if they'll carry weapons inside. If that's the case, use one of your ninjutsu." Everyone nodded, before Asuma paid the meal.

It was already getting dark outside, so the team rushed back to the poor side of the village, which right now, happened to be empty. No one was stupid enough to roam throughout these streets at night. To the ninjas, it was perfect. Naruto and Chouji saw the house where the meeting was being held and they could hear lots of noises inside. Probably, they were busy getting wasted with opium and sake. It worked for the best in Naruto's opinion. He signaled for Chouji to hide until the lights were cut off. Naruto, then, jumped to the roof and entered through a small crack on the roof. He slowly increased the hole with his kunai, before jumping inside. Once inside, he activated his Sharingan and started looking for activity near him. The room wasn't much spacious, and Naruto only saw one guard, who, instead of doing his job, was drooling on top of a naked geisha. The room reeked of alcohol, but his young mind couldn't understand what happened here. He didn't feel the need to understand though as he located his target. Dropping slowly, he reached the electric box located on the far wall of the room and opened, before cutting every wire he could see with a kunai.

When the lights were out, every member of the gang started screaming, asking what the hell was going on. They were all surprised upon hearing someone screaming outside.

_**"Nikudan Sensha"**__ (Human Bullet Tank Technique)_

All of a sudden, a giant ball invaded the house and smashed quite a few enemies, before Chouji smashed himself in the wall. He immediately let go of the technique, as he looked at the rest of the gang. Their eyes screamed blood murder at the Akimichi, but Chouji wasn't threatened by them. Mostly because it didn't take one second for Naruto to appear and engage everyone from behind, in a clean taijutsu match. With the group's attention divided, Chouji got in the fight as well and used his superior strength to deal with the bandits. Asuma and Ino were outside the house, just watching the spectacle. Ino even flinched once she saw Chouji landing a kick on a man's sensitive member.

Asuma saw one man picking a sword from behind his back and worried for his students. However, Naruto was using the sharingan right now, so he was able to escape the attack before the man even moved and landed a fierce punch on his abdomen. He was out the next second, while the genins dealt with the rest. A shadow was seen trying to escape, before Ino appeared in front of him with two shurikens on her hand. When the moon light illuminated the man's face, Ino smirked upon seeing the leader of the gang in front of her. She placed both hands in front of her and used her clan technique, the Shintenshin.

Asuma caught her body while she was in possession of the leader's body.

Chouji and Naruto came out of the house, before joining their team. The mission was complete now and their last part was to walk towards the authorities where the leader, well Ino, would confess the man's crimes and request his arrest. With the gang dealt with, the area would be cleaned of crimes and, quite possibly, resurrect once more. The Hokage had a business plan for the neighborhood. With the gang gone, the next day, contractors would come, with security of course, and build some shops and even a neighborhood hospital. The best part of the contract, in the Hokage's possession, was a new bank agency there. Possibly, in about three to four months, the area would grow, financially, and even attract future residences. The good thing about Konoha being a ninja village was that ninjas tend to protect the area where they live in. So, if anything happened, a shinobi would deal with the situation or at least report it to the Hokage.

With the mission accomplished, Asuma relieved his team for the day.

Ino and Chouji nodded to each other and approached Naruto, inviting him for dinner. The blond looked at them for one instant and everyone already expected a 'no' for an answer. Surprisingly so, Naruto nodded his head and asked them where they wanted to go. He was surprised, though, when they asked him where _he _wanted to go. Asuma smiled at the change in interaction, before leaving the area. The team bid him goodbye, before Chouji and Ino turned to Naruto once more. He was still due to give them his answer.

"Well, Naruto, where do you want to go?" Ino questioned him.

"I do enjoy some ramen, if you're both ok with it…" Both Ino and Chouji wondered why the sudden reluctance in his tone, but none of them said anything. It was the first time, Naruto said yes to anything and they would seize the opportunity. They followed the blond towards the ramen stand, both with a smile on their faces. The talk with Ino and Chouji's parents were still fresh in their minds, as after that, they saw Naruto in a new light, so to speak. They still didn't see the bigger picture, but at least concerning the Uchiha incident, Naruto's reputation was cleared. At the time, both Ino and Chouji heard from their parents what really happened at the time of the Uchiha massacre and Ino even remembered how she flinched upon hearing that Naruto was there that night, because he was searching for food. Until then, neither Ino nor Chouji knew that Naruto was an orphan.

It was Ino's father, Inoichi, who told that Naruto received a direct katon jutsu to his face and his eyes were scorched because of it. And seeing that Sasuke was declared deceased due to a strong genjutsu on his mind, the Sandaime decided to implant his eyes into Naruto, hence why he was the first non-Uchiha with the Sharingan. Upon arriving at the ramen stand, Naruto greeted old man Teuchi and his daughter Ayame, before introducing them to Chouji and Ino. The team talked about a lot of things and the majority of them concerned Naruto. He ended up revealing what happened after the massacre. He said to them that he received training from a jounin called Hatake Kakashi, in how to use the Sharingan. He ended up saying that his eyes was fully matured and even showed them to his teammates.

"Wow, it's so cool…" Chouji spoke, earning a nod from Ino.

"So, that means that you can predict the enemy's movements before they even occur as well as copy any ninjutsu and genjutsu?" The Yamanaka asked, earning a nod from Naruto, before he deactivated his eyes. His teammate's enthusiasm wasn't so much shared by the blond, seeing as, despite getting his sight back, he considered the eyes to be cursed. On occasions, he would look at the mirror and see Sasuke instead of him and two times a week, he dreamed of memories from Sasuke's life inside the Uchiha compound. He chose not to tell them that and decided to ask some questions this time. One thing he was curious about was their clan's ability to work together so fluently. Ino and Chouji nodded, but it was Ino who explained.

"Our fathers formed a team about twenty years ago and became insanely famous. They were called the Ino-Shika-Cho team. Since their creation, the three of them devised teamwork attacks that were unbeatable. The three of them passed their knowledge to me, Chouji and Shikamaru. Only problem was that, for some reason, Hokage-sama placed you in Shikamaru's place, but our fathers still train us three on occasion." Naruto, suddenly, found himself questioning the same thing. Why he was placed in this team for? He knew about their parents' reputation and wondered if would have been more prudent to form a second generation of the team.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything, but I could ask the Hokage to switch places with Shikamaru."

Naruto's idea surprised them and suddenly Ino felt ashamed at explaining about the three clans' bond. Naruto was stronger than Shikamaru and while he wasn't as intelligent, he came up with good strategies for them.

"No, you don't have to…I mean, Shikamaru is nice and he's been with us since we were born, but he is far too lazy at times, right Chouji?" Ino asked, calling for help.

"Shikamaru is my best friend, but even I know that his laziness gets in the way. Both Ino and I got stronger because of you, Naruto." Upon seeing Naruto's questioned look, Chouji elaborated. "You are way better than the both of us combined and, besides that, not once did you belittle us for it. Every time we sparred, I felt the need to improve and I think Ino feels the same. Even our parents commented on our increase in drive. Shikamaru may be our destined teammate, but looking at it today, his methods of work would piss both me and Ino. Shikamaru maybe our friend, but he's not our teammate and our leader, you are." Ino nodded at each word as she felt the same, strangely enough. What was even stranger was that after Choji finished talking, they all saw Naruto's mouth bending lightly towards a smile. The strange part wasn't the smile itself, but the fact that it somehow showed them a different Naruto than he portrayed. It didn't suit him, she concluded, to be bitter all the time.

"Thank you Chouji, Ino…"

Both smiled, before the meal was served. The three of them ate in silence, but the aura around them was softened, indicating that the team just overcame an important obstacle. This earned a smile from Asuma, Kakashi and Kasumi who happened to be passing by the ramen house and listened to the whole thing. Their topic of conversation was precisely the team's lack of interaction and ways to solve it. They heard Naruto's idea regarding his replacement with Shikamaru and frowned in worry. It was, indeed, a questionable call from the Hokage at the time, but now they were teammates. In the end, though, Chouji and Ino managed to break Naruto's invisible barrier created around himself in order to avoid outside interaction.

"It seems we worried over nothing, Asuma." Kakashi said, earning a nod from the bearded jounin.

* * *

**===Next day===**

Asuma could see the difference in interaction between the three as they practiced more chakra control exercises. Because of Ino's smaller chakra capacity, compared to Chouji and Naruto's, she managed to finish the tree walking and was now attempting the water walking. Chouji wasn't much further behind and he even managed to reach the top of the tree he was in. However, instead of going to the water, Asuma told him to stick with the tree climbing for now, until he could fully master the exercise. Naruto's time with the kunai increased only a couple minutes, but at least it was an improvement. He wanted another thing from the blond student, instead of chakra control, so he ushered Naruto to stop for a moment.

"Naruto, I understand you're learning the arts of kenjutsu, correct?" The blond nodded, not even interested in keeping that a secret. "I wanted to practice my skills with these little babies against you, if that's ok?"

Asuma took out of his kunai holster, two trench knives, before falling into attack position. The blond smiled and unsealed his tiger sword, a kodashi. Activating the sharingan, Naruto charged Asuma, who for his part, smiled at the speed of his student. He used to use his weapon laced with wind chakra, but by doing so, he would damage Naruto's sword. The blond was on to him in an instant, however Asuma was quick enough to parry it with one of his trench knives, before he used his free hand to strike at Naruto. The genin evaded quickly to the right and flipped his sword, so that the cutting side was aimed at Asuma. He, then, performed a vertical strike, as if he wanted to slice Asuma in two. The jounin placed both trench knives in front of the sword, stopping its path. The stalemate was momentary, seeing as Asuma had much more strength than Naruto. The blond let loose of the sword for an instant and Asuma lost his balance, because he was holding his weapon still and without a force to stop him, he stumbled. Naruto took advantage and jumped high into the air, already flipping his body to land a strong kick at Asuma's head.

The jounin just resumed his momentum and avoided the kick. He let go of the trench knife on his right hand and closed his fist for a punch. Despite the fact that Naruto's body couldn't react as fast as his eyes could, he managed to dodge. He aimed his kodashi at Asuma's torso, but Asuma defended it with one of the knives. He used the other to attack, but Naruto parried with his sword as quickly as expected from the sharingan. Naruto focused some chakra to his legs and increased his speed. He appeared behind Asuma and aimed a powerful strike at the jounin. Asuma managed to dodge, though, by creating some distance between the two. He took some shurikens from his holster and threw at Naruto, before doing some hand seals.

**_Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_** (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)

Naruto smirked at yet another technique acquired, before he started a quick series of hand seals. He gathered a great load of mud inside his mouth, while molding th necessary chakra.

_**Doton Doryuuheki **_(Earth Release: Mud Wall Technique)

Naruto took the cover supplied by the wall of mud and took some projectiles of his own. After throwing at Asuma, he used the same technique that the jounin used on him. Asuma was surprised upon seeing the shurikens multiplying and realized that Naruto must have copied the technique. Still, the man used a simple substitution jutsu and vanished from sight, just as Naruto appeared to deliver a powerful strike. His sharingan showed him the source of chakra coming from behind him, but he couldn't follow the speed of a seasoned jounin. He used both arms in front of his exposed face in a weak attempt to block Asuma's punch, but to his surprise the punch never came. Upon opening his eyes, he saw Asuma's hand in front of him. The jounin was smiling the entire time.

"Naruto, nice spar...but you shouldn't focus on copying every technique you see before you. Perhaps, focus on those who would be useful to your fighting style and nothing more. Be ready for future spars like this as I expect you to improve constantly. Now, gather around everyone, we're about to start the real missions." Quite possibly, Asuma was the most enthused of the four, regarding the initiation of C-ranked missions. Ino was actually dreading the possible outcomes as she knew what C-ranked mission represented. It was their first and quite probably it would be outside the village's perimeter. Once out of the protection provided by the village's walls, who knows what could happen. Chouji, being Chouji, only thought about the amount of food that he would have to pack once he went home. Naruto, on the other hand, was more interested in meeting new enemies to face in battle.

* * *

**===The Hokage's Office===**

And so the team marched towards the Hokage's office, where the Sandaime Hokage was busy smoking his pipe. He was expecting his son's team to show up any time now. Meanwhile, he was busy analyzing the team's charts with a smile on his face. His decision to prevent the Ino-Shika-Cho team's second generation allowed for a much more balanced team and the same time, he formed a team with plain condition for tougher missions in the future. Asuma was considered an elite jounin and Naruto, with his sharingan, had the potential to surpass his sensei. Chouji and Ino were well on their way to surpass their fathers. Shikamaru, for his part, was mostly brains and very little effort, hence why the Hokage believed that he would be better in another team where he could be tested. Plus, there wasn't one situation that Kakashi couldn't fix if needed.

All in all, his team decision ended up being the correct one in his decision. A knock on the door was heard and his son entered followed by his genins.

"Team 10 presenting for duty, Hokage-sama."

The old man Hokage looked at the team with pride as he threw a scroll to Asuma with the letter C engraved on it. "As I said yesterday, this will be Team 10's first C-ranked mission. It will be a simple escort mission towards Wave Country. Please come in Tazuna-san." The door opened to reveal the client. He was pretty old, as they could see from the gray hair and gray beard. His outfit didn't show much as they later knew his profession to be a contractor. He wore reading glasses and he was holding a bottle of empty sake on his right hand. The rotten smell that exuded from the man was quite evident and Ino was forced to cover her nose.

"Tazuna-san, here is the team that will protect you until you reach your home."

The client snorted at the Hokage, before attempting a zip of his sake, not even aware that the bottle was already empty.

"I paid a lot of money to be protected by ninjas, but not by a team of brats, especially the blond midget and the fatso over there." At this, both Chouji and Naruto saw red, however neither of them could hit the client and in front of the Hokage no less.

It didn't mean that they couldn't respond in kind.

"Yeah...well, I'm not too thrilled to be protecting a drunken old fart either, so I guess we're even…" Naruto replied, earning a silent snicker from Chouji. Ino and Asuma enjoyed it as well, but none of them said anything for a while.

Tazuna just snorted once more and complained about lack of respect from youngsters.

"Do not worry Tazuna-san. These three represents one of the best teams Konoha has to offer. And besides, if something happens that they can't handle it, I'll be there as well. You don't have anything to worry about." Tazuna snorted, before leaving the office. Probably, he would go to a bar of something.

Asuma, then, turned to his students and gave their orders. "The mission will officially start tomorrow morning at 0800 hours. Take the rest of the afternoon to train if you so wish but I'd advise a good rest. Wave Country is a good walk away from here and we won't be able to use chakra while travelling." The team nodded, before leaving and going their separate ways. Ino and Chouji went to their respective homes, but Naruto wanted to train some more. It was only two in the afternoon after all and he wanted to practice some fire techniques. The chakra control exercises aided him in how much he needed for the technique, so he wanted to practice a bit more. Asuma was alone with his father for a bit, as he reported the events from yesterday and the bond formed by his team. The Hokage nodded in appreciation that Naruto found, at least, acceptance from his teammates. With the Uchiha incident out of the way, the only obstacle left to overcome was the Kyuubi. However, the Hokage had faith that his teammates wouldn't resent the blond.

Only time would tell, though.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

Once on his own, Naruto went to a nearby training ground, in order to practice a new technique that Kakashi taught him. It was extremely difficult to perform, since it involved a lot of pure fire manipulation. It was a B-ranked jutsu named _**Katon Kaen no Arashi**_ (Fire Release: Fire Storm Technique) and it consisted of releasing a powerful and thick fire stream, before manipulating it to form a fire hurricane in front of him. It was consisted a mid-range jutsu, but Naruto could adapt it to becoming a short-ranked one, by manipulating the fire a bit earlier than normal. He already managed to perform it once or twice, but it was mandatory to practice the technique more, in order to master it.

First, though, he looked up the sky with a smile on his face, at his growth in skill. His fight against Asuma showed him that, but at the same time, showed him what he had to improve in, his speed.

The sharingan could very well anticipate the enemy's movements. But what good would that do if his body couldn't react in time to prevent it. He would take today and practice the fire technique, the new one he copied from Asuma and finish with a couple of physical exercises meant to increase your stamina and speed. He would overcome every obstacle in front of him as he grew up. This mission could very well bring forth new challenges that will help him improve, çpossibly, new enemies to face, who knows. Maybe, Naruto may run into some missing-nin from another village or something.

If only he knew...

* * *

**Author Note**

Okay, what you think?

Tell me everything and please don't hide anything. I want to hear it, being good or bad (but helpful criticism, not meaningless insult).

Next chapter will begin the Wave Arc.

See ya.


	9. Wave Arc

**Author Note**

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes.

Last chapter, I showed the routine of team 10 as well as well as introducing my new character to the plot, a little bit. The female Anbu was busy checking on Naruto, before Asuma caught her and she had to leave. She'll appear throughout the chapters slowly, until it's time to fully integrate her into the plot. Now, the team received the C-ranked mission to protect a bridge builder named Tazuna to the Land of Wave. Everyone knows what happened, but no one knows what will happen in this story, with the exception of the author of course. Now, let's proceed with some answers to the reviews of last chapter.

* * *

**Yellow Flash** – Not once did I say that his team managed to close the gap. Chouji just managed to follow Naruto for a couple of minutes and Naruto wasn't even using his Sharingan.

**Gaijinsamurai** – Naruto won't be learning the Chidori. Sasuke only learned it because he had a lightning affinity, not because Kakashi felt he should have it. Regarding the type of sword, though, it's not likely that he will change it any time soon. He is already adapted to the Kodashi's weight and length, so if he was to change it to another weapon, it wouldn't be the same thing. Also, this Naruto is not a close range fighter as the cannon. He is a mid-range with knowledge of all three ninja arts.

**Kazikamikaze24** – A fine idea, indeed. However, Naruto already have a weapon to use and it's his swords.

**Ccebling** – I'm still deciding if Naruto will have the Mangenkyou Sharingan or not. I don't want him to become so powerful right away. My choice will only occur later when he's older.

**Cloves – **the Eagle Anbu is not Yuugao.

Ok that's enough for now.

Here is the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 9 – Wave Arc**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

The mission day was finally upon Team 10 as this was the first time that they would leave Fire Country. Both Ino and Chouji had already traveled to some locations throughout the country with their parents, but none of them ever crossed any borders. Naruto had traveled only once with Kakashi in order to learn how to use his Sharingan. Asuma ushered everyone to arrive at the gates at 0800 hours. Realizing that he still had two hours, Naruto shrugged it off as he managed to parry Tori's sword strike with the help of his Sharingan. The dual was light today, considering that Naruto would need his strength and chakra for his C-ranked mission.

One hour and a half later, the two decided to stop the training as Naruto would need to meet his sensei shortly.

After hearing of the mission, Tori ended up giving some advice to Naruto.

"I know it's a C-ranked mission and normally you shouldn't expect more than bandits or thugs, Naruto. However, as you evolve in your career, you'll come to know that rarely ever does a mission go according to plan. There are a lot of variables in which you must take into consideration. Your team is heading towards a different country and you won't have the protection of any Konoha shinobi with the exception of your team. A good ninja must adapt to whatever situation lies in front of him, even if in the middle of a fight. Remember this and you'll be fine." Naruto nodded and bowed to his Kenjutsu partner, before sealing the sword and turning towards the direction of the gates. Naruto knew that Tori would vanish as soon as Naruto turned, so he didn't bother asking for anything else and just walked casually towards the gates.

Except for him and a few others who woke up earlier, the day in Konoha was only now starting, so Naruto spotted some random faces as he walked along the street.

Normally, he would take another route – through rooftops – but there were no buildings that lead to the gates, so Naruto was forced to walk there. Because of this, he could feel a few civilians who were up and about glaring at him. Ignoring them was his routine every day, so he simply shrugged it off and placed both hands inside his pockets, as the gates finally appeared on the horizon. When Naruto arrived at the gates, he realized that no one was there yet. He admitted arriving a little bit earlier than schedule, but that didn't mean that his entire team needed to arrive precisely at the time or a few minutes afterwards. Naruto, though, realized that he was complaining without necessity. After all, Kakashi wasn't going on this mission and absolutely no one in Konoha was later than him. After a few minutes of waiting, Naruto suddenly felt a bit of pain in his left arm and realized that he took things too far with Tori this morning. It would fade with time but Naruto wanted it to heal before the mission actually started.

He started rubbing the sore muscles, in order to relax them when Ino and Chouji arrived.

"Where is Asuma-sensei?" Ino was the one who asked and Naruto just shrugged.

"He isn't here yet, neither is that drunken excuse of a human being, a.k.a. our client. So I'll guess that Asuma is coming with him." Naruto's distaste for Tazuna wasn't a mystery and Ino even let out a small laugh at his comment.

True to what Naruto said, the team's sensei appeared with the bridge builder Tazuna behind him. Asuma was surprised that his team was this punctual, while Tazuna was looking at the blond kid who disrespected him in front of the Hokage yesterday. He didn't need to be a genius to know that the kid didn't like him at all. Probably it was the judging remark he made yesterday. Tazuna, though, had other problems at the moment. After a quick word from Tazuna regarding the time needed to reach Wave Country, the team left Konoha _walking _towards Wave Country. Of course, Ino protested seeing as they could travel far faster than this. However, she didn't take into account that Tazuna was a mere civilian and couldn't travel like ninjas could. Ino had the decency to blush in embarrassment when she and Tazuna exchanged glances. After that, the trip went uneventful for the most part.

Team 10 wasn't very talkative with the exception of a few questions here and then about Yamanaka and Akimichi Clans. Nothing secretive, but only what Ino and Chouji can and will learn in the future aside from the training with Asuma.

After talking with the team, Ino turned to Tazuna who was busy talking something with Asuma.

"Excuse me Tazuna-san, but I'm curious about something." Tazuna looked at the girl and ushered her to ask. "Isn't there a ninja village in Wave Country? Why come all the way to Konoha to get protection?" The man sighed in response to that.

"Wave country, although close to Water Country, doesn't have a ninja village like Konoha or Kirigakure. As a matter of fact, our land lacks the necessary income to maintain a ninja village. However, that will change when I manage to finish the bridge I talked about. It links Wave Country to Fire Country and through it, we can reestablish trading routes and expand our economy." The man was boosting in self-confidence upon mentioning his pet bridge. Ino nodded at the answer, before the conversation ceased for the time being. The group walked for a couple of hours until they spotted two small puddle of water. Asuma immediately sensed the presences, when something in his mind clicked. So far, his team hasn't engaged a fierce enemy before. That mission in Konoha hardly could be considered a test. The team simply passed by the puddles as if nothing happened. Suddenly, two identical shinobis appeared from within the puddles and went after the strongest enemy Asuma. Quickly wrapping the seemingly surprised shinobi, the pair called the Demon Brothers pulled their chains at the same time and ripped Asuma in half, shocking his team upon seeing the death of their sensei.

After arrogantly stating that they've already taken care of one, they moved on to the next, namely, the genins.

Chouji and Ino managed to overcome their fear and jumped in front of the client. Naruto, meanwhile, unleashed a couple of shurikens, before going through hand seals.

_**Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **__(Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)_

The two shurikens had suddenly multiplied into twenty, forcing the demon brothers to use their chain in order to block them, before moving on with the attack. By that time, though, Naruto was already upon them, standing between the demon brothers and the genins, which were protecting Tazuna. The Demon Brothers charged once more with their chain, ready to envelope Naruto. The genin, though, managed to parry it and aim a taijutsu strike at the one from the right. His attempt was blocked, though, but Naruto managed to dodge an incoming swipe from the brother from the left, that would pierce his heart. Quickly grabbing a kunai, Naruto charged the one from the right once more, knowing that the other one was behind him. As he knew that the demon brothers were focusing on him, he managed to take their attention away from the client, Ino and Chouji. Naruto started dodging the attacks, while locking eyes with Chouji for assistance.

Chouji nodded and looked at Ino for a moment, before expanding his right arm and extending it towards the one that was closest. He was successful and used his strength to hold the brother in place, while Naruto activated his Sharingan with a smile on his face. Slicing the chain with his kunai, he started pounding the only free brother to the ground with supreme taijutsu and the ability of anticipating the enemy's movements. The enemy was sent to unconsciousness and Naruto looked at Chouji with a smirk on his face as now it would be the other one. His Sharingan showed him seconds before the demon brother used his claw to hurt Chouji's hand, which resulted in him being released. The enemy was charging at Ino who grabbed a kunai in order to protect Tazuna. Both Ino and the Demon Brother were surprised upon seeing Naruto appearing right in between them and performing hand seals.

_**Doton Doryuu Dangan **__(Earth Release: Mud Shot Technique)_

The first ones the enemy was able to evade, but Naruto adapted the mud projectiles' path based on the position supplied by the Sharingan. The enemy screamed as the mud shot hit him right on the chest. He was about to get up in rage when Asuma appeared from within a wind shunshin and stomped on the fallen brother, shocking Naruto, Ino and Tazuna. The blond later wished to punch himself upon seeing the wood log sliced in two where Asuma stood a few moments ago. He then looked at the fallen Chouji, while Asuma was busy tying the Demon Brother to the tree. Naruto kneeled next to his partner.

"Chouji, what happened? Are you alright?" Naruto helped his team comrade up, before seeing the bleeding hand and remembering what the enemy had done to free himself from Chouji's strong grip.

It was Asuma who figured out what it was, after appearing behind Naruto.

"Oh man, its poison. Ino, come here. I believe you have your family kit with you to extract poisons." The female member of the team came running and looked at Chouji's hand, before grabbing some plants inside her kit to make some healing tea. One great aspect out of having a flower shop was that her family managed to learn a lot about healing poisons from plants. It didn't take more than five minutes for Ino to prepare the herbal tea. Chouji drunk everything and sighed in relief upon feeling the pain going away. Asuma was relieved as well, because poison wasn't actually his favorite subject. "Great job all of you, now Tazuna I wish to talk to you about why there are two C-ranked missing-nins from Kirigakure after you?

Tazuna began to sweat as he saw the look on Asuma's face. Seeing as he was out of alternatives, the drunken bridge builder decided to come clean about this entire mess. He realized that the fat kid got hurt due to the fact that he had lied about the mission parameters to the Hokage. The very reason for that was that he didn't know how eager Gatou was to seeing him killed. However, from the jounin's angered face, Tazuna knew that he couldn't play the naïve part. Even he wouldn't believe in this crap apology.

"I'm sorry that I lied to you all. Like I said before, Wave Country is not very rich and my case is no exception. I couldn't afford a B-ranked mission, but I needed protection so that I could finish the bridge that will link my home with Fire Country, thus opening trade routes between countries. I'm so very sorry that one of your genins got hurt, Asuma-san, but I didn't know that Gatou would resort into hiring high level missing-nins just to kill me. The fact remains that our country is the way it is because of his acts of tyranny. The man conducts a lot of the dirty activities there. Opium traffic, women slavery, you name it. With the bridge, I was hoping to end his reign for good."

Asuma kept his stoic façade throughout the explanation. He knew a thing or two about the Gatou Corporation and how the man was responsible for many illicit activities.

"I know a bit about this Gatou, Tazuna. I also know that the Sandaime Hokage would do everything to help you if you came clean with your problem. What you just did not only endangered yourself, but also my genins as this is the first time they ever faced a higher level shinobi. You were lucky that we haven't encountered jounin level ninja, or else we would be in serious trouble. The presence of the demon brothers here raises this mission to B-level, if not A-ranked, should we encounter more threats up ahead. I'm sorry Tazuna-san, but I will have to consult my genins to see if they are up for the task." Tazuna could only nod with a sad look on his face as he watched the jounin turn his back and walk towards the genins that were sitting on the ground. How was he supposed to know that he could come clean with the Sandaime and ask for a B-ranked for the price of a C-ranked?

Once far from the client, Asuma kneeled next to Ino who was busy tending to Chouji's poison wound.

By this time, the poison was fully extracted and Ino was wrapping Chouji's hand with bandages to close the wound. The man knew a thing or two about first aid kits, but the job performed by Ino far exceeded his expectations.

If he didn't know any better, the woman may have potential as a future medic-nin. Something he would write down somewhere to train the girl in. Perhaps, he could ask someone to train her in that regard when or if they returned home.

"Okay, now that we know of the real situation, I ask if all of you feel like continuing with the mission. My experience tells me that we may encounter a jounin up ahead."

All three of them looked at the jounin with a surprised look before looking down in deep thought. They weren't too happy to hear that the client lied to them, but all three of them understood the reasons behind it. The man was doing this in order to save his country. Ino, Naruto and Chouji looked at each other for a while, before Ino and Chouji nodded to Naruto. There was no going back as far as the three were concerned.

"We would like to continue, Asuma-sensei. He may have lied to us, but he did it for his country" The jounin smiled at his team. He didn't have a problem with going, but the genins were his responsibility.

"Huh, those were my thoughts exactly. We'll proceed then. However, I ask that all three of you keep your eyes open from now on and listen to me at all times, understood?" All three nodded, before Asuma left to tell Tazuna of their decision. The bridge builder was happy and repeatedly thanked them for their kindness and apologized also repeatedly for lying to them about the contents of the mission. He only stopped when the entire team shut him up by saying that it was enough. So, after leaving the demon brothers for Konoha to pick up, Asuma's team left once more towards Wave Country. Asuma nominated Naruto as sub-leader of the group, so that he could protect Chouji who, despite being clean of poison, was weaker than before. Because of this, Ino and Naruto ended up flanking the Akimichi, much to his protest, saying that it wasn't necessary.

"Chouji, you would do the same thing if I was the one with the injury, wouldn't you?" Naruto said, smiling at his comrade. The Akimichi nodded with a smile as well.

Eventually, the team managed to reach the river when a small boat was waiting for them. Right now, the fog was so dense that none of them could see a thing. Everyone quickly came aboard the boat, before the man to whom Tazuna knew, stirred it towards their destination. The trip towards the other side took almost fifteen minutes as the team from Konoha got to see the enormous steel bridge that Tazuna was building. The man beamed with pride when Ino complimented the construction. Tazuna's friend wished them good luck before vanishing within the heavy mist that flooded the area. Asuma's instincts immediately went on high alert the minute he made the first step and ushered his team to focus.

"Naruto, please activate your Sharingan and tell me the minute you see any source of chakra." The blond nodded and activated his doujutsu.

Asuma had faith that Naruto's chakra wouldn't be reduced by over using the doujutsu and with Naruto's help, he could anticipate any movement from the enemy whoever he or she is. Naruto was looking all around the group for any signs of chakra residue around these parts. He never used his eyes for such a thing, but he never was in a situation where he couldn't see a thing before. Suddenly, as he looked to the right, his eyes caught it.

"Asuma-sensei, there is one to our right." Asuma nodded and screamed for everyone to get down as he went for the client and Ino, while Naruto helped the surprised Chouji.

All of them sensed a strange weapon passing above them, before it was imbedded to the tree to their left. Asuma then got up and saw the man that was standing on top of the sword. His eyes immediately widened as he recognized his enemy's identity immediately. This mission started out as a C-ranked with the prospect of facing nothing but bandits and thugs. It escalated to a B-ranked as they faced the Demon Brothers. Now, it was easily A-ranked, as right in front of him was one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist Momochi Zabuza. Whatever happened to his life that warranted such bad luck, he'll never know.

"Sarutobi Asuma, I believe. No wonder the demon brothers were so easily defeated. I don't have anything against you or your pathetic genins, so give me the old man."

"Momochi Zabuza, A-ranked missing-nin from Kirigakure and former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Sorry, but Tazuna's safety is my mission. You'll have to get through me."

The two jounins looked at each other for a while. The killing intent liberated by both of them was staggering for both Ino and Chouji as they had yet to experience this level of battle. Naruto, being targeted multiple times by other ninjas, was better accustomed to it. But it didn't mean he was unaffected as he had yet to face a jounin in battle. He saw Ino shaking and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to relax his comrade. Asuma was aware of his genin's suffering as he turned his neck a bit.

"Ino and Chouji protect the client. Naruto, stay between me and them so that you can be my support and protect them at the same time. Use your sharingan to pinpoint his direction and attack but only from a secure distance. He is way out of your league for the time being. And all of you do not worry. I won't let any of you die, that's a promise." The genins nodded and were a bit relieved because of Asuma's speech. By this time, Asuma was already equipped with his favorite weapon as he locked eyes with Zabuza who had yet to move from his sword. Suddenly, he vanished from his position, before falling on the lake.

"Bold words, coming from a man who is about to get killed. Prepare yourself, Sarutobi." Zabuza focused on a single hand seal and used his favorite technique.

_**Ninpou Kirigakure no Jutsu**__ (Ninja Arts: Hidden Mist Technique)_

The dense fog now transformed into a heavy mist as no one could see a thing. Asuma focused chakra to his eyes in an attempt to spot Zabuza's position. When it became clear that the man was taking too much time, he widened his eyes in surprise, knowing that Zabuza wouldn't target him, but the client instead. He quickly turned and was surprised to see the enemy appearing behind Tazuna. He was more surprised to see Naruto standing in front of the enemy as they exchanged swords together. The swordsman was surprised with the blond's speed, before looking at the kid's eyes and cursing the damned doujutsu. He didn't have time to force the sword and kill the brat, as Asuma charged at him. Zabuza had to dodge Asuma's trench knives to best of his abilities. The man wasn't used to the agility represented by smaller blades.

So he vanished towards the lake once more, in hopes that he would escape Asuma's knives and return to his element.

"I should have done this from the beginning, Zabuza_. __**Fuuton Daitoppa**__ (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough Technique)_" Asuma shouted, before gathering as much air as possible inside his lungs, before expelling wildly. The gigantic wind force managed to dispel the heavy mist and even threw Zabuza a great distance, as the man cursed his luck. Zabuza's style consisted of using the mist and sneaking behind the enemy for a quick and silent kill. He lost his chance to kill the target, because of the damn kid with the Sharingan. Zabuza, now, was out in the open as he faced the smirking Asuma. Gone was Zabuza's mist advantage but by no means was he defeated because of it. Both Zabuza and Asuma charged against another, before their weapons clashed fiercely. The aftershock managed to create a tidal wave around them as both attempted attacks at the other. Eventually, Zabuza managed to connect a heavy kick on Asuma's chest and sent him flying long enough to make a long series of hand seals. Suddenly, from both his flanks, two small whirlpools appeared, before two torrents of water emerged towards Asuma's path.

_**Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu**__ (Water Release: Water Dragon Projectile Technique)_

Asuma saw the two creatures approaching and performed a quick replacement technique, before appearing the lake margin. He threw a couple of shurikens at Zabuza, who managed to dodge before blocking Asuma's attack with his gigantic sword. At the same time, he made a single _**Mizu Bunshin**_ behind Asuma who managed to hold him long enough for Zabuza to create a water prison and trap the shocked Asuma inside. With an arrogant laughter, Zabuza created a small army of mizu bunshins and told Asuma that he would send them against the genins and that Asuma would watch their deaths. Asuma snarled at the man but he couldn't do anything.

He was about to scream at his genins to run when he saw it.

_**Katon Dai Endan **__(Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)_

The gigantic fireball crossed the river with its majestic power and went straight for the clones and Asuma's dome. The clones didn't have the chakra to perform techniques, so they were caught in the blast. Asuma was protected by a dome of water, which managed to absorb the fireball's power a bit, before it couldn't handle anymore. Asuma managed to fall beneath the water in safety. Only the real Zabuza managed to stop the fireball by lifting a water wall in front of him. Looking at the distance, he snarled once more when he saw Naruto's sharingan spinning madly at him. The boy managed to predict Zabuza's entire plan and performed the technique before he had time to summon the clones. Zabuza was so frustrated that he recovered his attention two seconds too late, allowing Asuma to perform the needed hand seals for his technique.

_**Fuuton Fuujin no Jutsu**__ (Wind Release: Dust Cloud Technique)_

After finishing the sequence, Asuma placed the palm of his hands together and blew wind chakra through them, creating a strong burst of cutting dust. The attack hit Zabuza dead on as it not only sent him flying, but managed to cause a great load of damage to his body. His body ended up hitting a considerably thick tree, which resulted in a few ribs being cracked. Asuma, then, positioned in front of Zabuza ready to deliver the killing blow when he spotted a couple of senbons hitting Zabuza's neck. The demon's eyes immediately lost their color, before Asuma placed two fingers on his neck to feel any sign of heart beat. There wasn't one.

"I appreciate your assistance. I've been hunting Zabuza for quite some time now." Said the hunter-nin who appeared right beside his prey.

Asuma took a while to observe the situation, before nodding. Right now, his mission was to protect Tazuna. The hunter-nin vanished with the body, before Asuma went over to the other side of the river where his genins and the client were waiting. He congratulated Naruto on the job well done, before continuing with the trip towards Wave Country. Tazuna was so grateful for their protection that he ushered everyone to follow him to his house, which was nearby their current position.

* * *

**===At Konoha===**

The sun has already begun its descending journey as one Nara Shukaku was found walking through the forest of his property.

It was a habit he came up once and that it stuck. Where he stood, there was no one who could bother him other than the animals that lived there. Suddenly, though the man looked to his right at the shadow of a tree, before he sighed in dismay. So much for peace and quiet, he mused.

"Evening Itsuko, how can I help you?" Shukaku heard the woman emit an angry sound and smiled, before looking forward.

"How many have I asked you not to call me by my name, Shikaku-sensei?" The Eagle masked Anbu said as she appeared in front of him with her arms crossed. The Nara patriarch smiled in return as the image of his ex-student's angered face appeared in his head. No matter how many times he did it, it was always amusing to set her on edge with his habits. There was only one thing that managed to infuriate the woman more than the possibility of revealing her identity and that was hearing the word that every traditional Nara shinobi used so as to justify eventual negligence or lack of will in doing something.

"And how many times have _I _told you it's too troublesome to remember?" The Anbu started shaking, but managed to control herself from not shouting at the man who trained her.

"Ah…forget it. Hokage-sama asked for your presence at his office immediately." Shikaku nodded and left, knowing that his ex-student would do the same, but through the use of a shunshin.

It became another habit of his to infuriate the Anbu every once in a while. He knew that every time the Hokage needed him, he would ask her to come and call him, because only she, as well as her old teammates who became jounins just a while ago, knew where their sensei was all the time. Other Anbu operatives took so long to find Shikaku that by the time he arrived at the Hokage's office, Sandaime had given up on expecting his presence and dealt with the situation. However, if it were up to the Nara patriarch, he would have preferred if others came instead of his ex-student. This way, he wouldn't have to perform troublesome duties as much.

* * *

**===At Wave Country===**

After the fight with Zabuza, it didn't take too long for the team to reach Tazuna's place. Once inside, Chouji was taken by Tazuna's daughter to one of the rooms as he needed to rest. After taking her time to appreciate the help of each shinobi for protecting her father, she went back to the kitchen, leaving team 10 alone for the time being. Naruto was a little bit drained of chakra because of his continuous Sharingan usage and his support at the fight. Asuma was a jounin, but fighting an A-ranked level missing-nin like Momochi Zabuza would be tiring to anyone. Quickly addressing to his genins, Asuma explained to them that they would remain in Wave Country until the bridge is finished as per agreement with Tazuna.

"Get your rest you two. Tomorrow, we'll begin a rotation in protecting Tazuna while he gets to finish his bridge. We'll be doing some training as well. So, here's how it's going to work. Tomorrow, Naruto and Chouji will be protecting Tazuna while Ino and I will train. The next day, will be the opposite. I'll take tonight and gather a couple of exercises for all three of you to perform, now get some rest. We'll talk more tomorrow."

* * *

**===With Asuma===**

At night, Asuma was busy thinking of the exercises he would put his genin through. However, something was on his mind and he couldn't shake the feeling that he was forgetting something important. Thinking back at the fight with Zabuza, he remembered the senbons thrown by the Hunter-nin who appeared out of nowhere and took Zabuza's body away in order to dispose of the demon of the mist. The procedure stood out as odd in Asuma's book, because normally a hunter-nin wouldn't wait and simply destroy the body.

Why take Zabuza away for that?

Also, senbons shouldn't be able to kill a person. It's only meant to paralyze the enemy.

He kept thinking a couple minutes about it as he tried to come up with some legitimate reason for the hunter-nin's actions. He frowned deeply upon realizing that he couldn't find one. It didn't make sense. If Zabuza was already dead, then why did the Hunter-nin take his body elsewhere? Suddenly, though, the jounin felt like punching himself or even asking for Tsunade of the Sannin to do it for him, for his stupidity. One, Zabuza wasn't dead at all. Senbons indeed are meant for paralyzing the opponent and the hunter ninja knew that, hence why he hit that area of the neck where it shuts down the entire body, making it look like the man was dead. That means that the hunter ninja was protecting the Demon of the Mist.

Asuma's realization ended up escalating things. He at first agreed to stay in case Tazuna was attacked by Gatou's thugs. Now, he would have to prepare himself and his team to face not only Zabuza once more, but the hunter ninja as well. Things could not be worse, Asuma reasoned. If the hunter ninja joined the company of a man such as Zabuza, then it's more likely to assume that his skills are similar if not stronger than the swordsman of the mist. Asuma was having trouble fighting Zabuza alone. Unfortunately, asking for back up wasn't an option as it could take too long for another jounin to arrive. He didn't know when Zabuza would strike next, but at least he knew that the man wouldn't be one hundred percent based on the wounds received by his wind attack.

He estimated at least a week and a half to prepare the next strongest of the team, Naruto.

* * *

**===Next Day===**

After a quick breakfast, the team was divided like Asuma ordered last night. Chouji and Naruto would accompany Tazuna today while Asuma and Ino would train. The news of Zabuza still being amongst the living was received with surprise and fear in Ino's case. The killing intent was surreal back then and she didn't want to relive it . It only got worse when they knew that the hunter ninja was actually aiding Zabuza instead of after his head. Asuma explained that he would take the time needed for Zabuza's recuperation and train the three of them. He already devised a couple of exercises for all three of them. With Ino, he would focus on water walking and physical exercises, in order to increase her control and her stamina. Chouji would receive strength exercises mixed with chakra, so it was required of him to learn water walking as well to further polish his Akimichi based techniques. He would spar constantly with Naruto, in order to increase his speed as well.

Last but not least, Naruto. Asuma ended up admitting in front of Chouji and Ino that he was counting on Naruto the most to stop the hunter ninja.

So, Asuma would have him perform advanced chakra control exercises and increase his speed by facing Asuma in constant spars. Chouji and Ino weren't affected by Asuma's words, because they actually thought Naruto to be better than them. After all, he was the appointed leader of the team. Asuma smiled at this and asked Naruto if he felt like including elemental manipulation in his training. The blond nodded, but assured Asuma that he already had exercises taught by Kakashi in this regard, so Asuma shouldn't need to worry about that. The truth was that Naruto already took the morning to practice his fire manipulation and while accompanying Tazuna, he would move to earth manipulation. Asuma nodded at that and took Ino towards the woods to begin her training while the male genins followed Tazuna towards the bridge.

The team would meet after Tazuna returned home in order to train together.

"Alright Ino, first order of business, is chakra control. I know that all major clans tend to attribute extra focus in chakra control exercises, so you already know tree walking." Ino nodded, so Asuma continued. "Now, the next exercise is water walking. The concept is similar, but instead of focusing chakra through your feet at all times, you'll have to adjust the amount of chakra according to the water depth. At the beginning, just focus on standing on top of the water surface. After that, you can walk albeit slowly. Any questions?" Ino nodded and went towards the nearby lake. Normally, she would take off her clothes, but that was obviously not possible. So, she decided to remain near the water margin as she attempted to step on the water and remain afloat. The water depth where she stood was almost nonexistent, so she barely sank that much on her first try. Asuma was confident, though, that the girl would master it by the end of the day. Her low chakra capacity helped her use it more effectively.

His goal was for her to increase her chakra capacity rather than only controlling it better.

* * *

**===With Naruto=== **

Watching the workers diligently doing their jobs, Naruto and Chouji were left with little to do, so it was easy to get bored. The Akimichi opened a bag of potato chips and ate one chip after the other faster than Naruto took to activate his Sharingan. Naruto was using his hand to hold his chin as he observed the works when Chouji's bag appeared below him. Naruto looked at his comrade for a while and nodded, accepting the invitation. Chouji smiled at this and resumed to eating as if nothing had happened. He felt a surge of chakra next to him and saw Naruto seating on the ground, looking down for a minute. He was about to question what was going on, when he saw Naruto's concentrated visage. The sharingan user extended his hand and slammed the palm of his hand on the ground.

To Chouji's surprise, a small hole no wider than Naruto's hand opened in front of him. The blond, then, performed a couple of hand seals before slamming his hand once more.

Chouji saw, amazed, that the hole was covered once more as if there wasn't there in the first place. Noticing that Naruto performed the same ritual continuously and repeatedly, he assumed it had something to do with earth manipulation. Upon asking the question, Naruto nodded and explained that by constantly manipulating the element, he could perform techniques more effectively with less chakra. Naruto explained that his chakra capacity ends up hindering his progress as far as chakra control was involved, so it was mandatory that he practiced constantly. Chouji nodded and decided to perform a couple of exercises as well to train and pass the time.

He would use his partial expansion technique and constantly expand his limbs, before using them to crush the nearby stones.

Chouji also performed the tree walking exercise on a twenty meter trees near the bridge's entrance. Naruto maintained his exercise for a while, not at all acknowledging that he ended up attracting the workers' attention. While they had to resort to tools in order to dig holes, Naruto didn't. In the end, Tazuna ended up hiring the boy to assist making holes where needed, before covering them, sometimes using mud techniques in order to hold the metal structures that would sustain the bridge. Naruto didn't mind because it served as training in his book. And if Tazuna was correct and it increased the construction speed, then their mission would be over sooner than expected.

* * *

**===At night===**

Once Tazuna returned home, the team was reunited once more for training. Ino, like Asuma expected, managed to master water walking and was now enjoying herself going up and down from trees in order to expand her chakra capacity. Meanwhile, Asuma set Chouji against Naruto in order to practice his agility further. The two bowed in respect to one another, before going at it fiercely. The only limitation was that Naruto couldn't use his sharingan. Chouji expanded his limbs and stretched it towards Naruto who effortlessly dodged and ran next to the extended limb towards his partner who was busy retracting his arms while following Naruto's approach with severe scrutiny.

Naruto arrived earlier than the arm and Chouji aimed a front kick towards Naruto's chest. The blond maneuvered himself in order to appear behind Chouji and aimed a strong punch on Chouji's face. Chouji blocked the punch and gathered a couple of shuriken, before throwing them at Naruto. The projectiles were actually aimed at a different direction since Naruto managed to land a blow on Chouji's wrist. The Akimichi didn't relent to the Uzumaki's speed and pressed forward, now going for the meat ball tank technique. Asuma acknowledged the increase in jutsu speed, before seeing Naruto doing hand seals as well. Asuma could see that whatever was coming wasn't fire oriented as the hand seal sequence was slightly different.

_**Doton Doryuuheki**__ (Earth Release: Mud Wall Technique)_

As the meat ball tank approached, Naruto released a great torrent of mud towards the ground and already moved from his old location. The wall would rise even if he wasn't there. Chouji's body slammed hard and was disoriented, allowing Naruto to appear behind him and merely place a kunai near his neck, ushering Chouji to yield. The Akimichi took a while because his eyes were spinning because of the crash. Asuma smirked at this and ushered everyone to go to Tazuna's house for dinner. Tomorrow would be Naruto and Chouji's turn to train while Ino went with Asuma to the bridge along with Tazuna. Asuma asked Naruto to teach water walking to Chouji, which he nodded.

* * *

**===One week later===**

The rotation went by for seven days and Asuma couldn't be happier for his team. Ino managed to expand her chakra capacity because of the exercises and even managed to increase her stamina a bit. Asuma sparred with her as to check her taijutsu and was surprised that it was quite flawless, even if it was the academy style. He managed to correct some flaws in her form and with that, she increased her close range capabilities. Her Yamanaka jutsus were practiced as well and Asuma had made sure to direct her targets to either him or Chouji, because getting inside Naruto's head was simply off limits. Ino, though, eased the situation saying that she could perform her jutsus on animals.

Chouji and Naruto sparred constantly together and even on water as per Naruto's request.

In his book, mastery of water walking was only possible when a ninja could fight on top of the water, without it being a hindrance.

Naruto, for his part, sparred with Asuma, this time, with the Sharingan active. The jounin's hope in Naruto had only risen as the boy managed to anticipate the great majority of Asuma's moves, only missing one because Asuma performed it behind a tree. Asuma considered his speed on par with Zabuza's and the hunter ninja must be on their level as well. The blond won't have any trouble at least as far as speed was a concern. Unfortunately, he knew little about the hunter's other capabilities such as ninjutsu, taijutsu or genjutsu. So Naruto would have to improvise in the middle of the battlefield. He had confidence, though, that Naruto will prevail. By now, Zabuza must have healed and could be on the move soon, so his team would have to be vigilant now. That meant that their training would end today. Actually, from his team, only Naruto asked to remain his training as the other two were quite exhausted from training. He was practicing fire techniques, when a sudden feeling of being watched, stopped him.

Grabbing his sword, he warned the person to review his or herself. He was surprised when a teenage girl emerged from the woods in front of him, holding a basket. Long black hair and white porcelain skin, her appearance appeared fragile, but he couldn't ascertain.

"I'm sorry to disturb you; I was just walking around these parts, gathering herbs for my master when I saw you practicing. My name is Haku, pleased to meet you."

The girl showed an affectionate smile and Naruto sighed, before putting away his sword.

"I'm Naruto, nice to meet you. Now, I must presume your master is sick if the herbs inside the basket are any indication."

Haku nodded and gave a brief, while fake, explanation about her master being poisoned while fishing at the lake.

Naruto didn't much care about it, hence why he just nodded and turned towards Tazuna's house, after saying his goodbye to the girl. Something really stuck out as odd in Naruto's opinion. He was by no means a sensor type shinobi, but if anyone was that close to him, he would be aware of her presence. Because of this, two thoughts immediately appeared in Naruto's mind. The first one was that perhaps the girl's chakra capacity was that of a civilian, so he wouldn't be able to feel it. The second and that may be counted as paranoia, was that the girl had the ability to reduce her chakra so as to make others believe she is a mere civilian, when in fact she is a powerful ninja with a superior knowledge of chakra control. Usually, he chose the more dangerous thought. This way, it wouldn't be a surprise. However, in this situation, he wasn't sure about it. He could follow the girl and use his Sharingan on her, but he didn't know what to expect.

Plus, Asuma was expecting him any minute now so he needed to return.

Haku looked at the direction that this Naruto person left and immediately lost her smile, replacing it for a cold and calculated expression. She was hoping to ask some more questions to him in hopes of extracting as much information as possible. His usage of fire techniques was no mystery since Naruto ended up using it to save his sensei from Zabuza-sama's water technique. Zabuza's plan was pretty much the same as the one Asuma was planning, even if neither knew about it. Zabuza would fight Asuma while Haku was to engage against the blond kid and the other two. Although to be honest, Haku wondered if the other two could even count as a disadvantage for her.

* * *

**===Next day===**

The next day, the entire team was following Tazuna towards the bridge. As per Asuma's instructions, Tazuna's daughter took her eight year old son and went to a friend's house located on the other side of Wave Country. The location was only privy to Tazuna, so she would be ok for the time being. Tazuna asked if Zabuza was likely to show up once more and Asuma explained to him his theory of the demon's wounds and how long it would normally take for the enemy to heal. He concluded that Zabuza would be up and running right about now and could very well show up any time. The bridge builder nodded as a little sweat appeared on his forehead. If it wasn't for the blond kid, Tazuna would be sliced in two. He remembered the enemy's cold eyes and he was already prepared for death back then. He didn't want to feel that ever again. It was the first time he preferred dying of old age.

As they approached the bridge, a heavy mist started to gather.

"Man, not today. Nature seems to stop us at any cost as well, huh?" Tazuna complained, being oblivious to the ninjas' faces.

"Tazuna, this mist is laced with chakra. This isn't nature. We must go. The workers might be in danger." The bridge builder looked at the jounin for a while, before running frantically towards the bridge's location. Upon arrival, he saw everyone on the ground dead, lying on top of a enormous pool of blood, made by their own. The sight was awful in Tazuna's eyes and even the genins. Asuma was already equipped with his trench knives when the voice appeared from within the mist. Once more, the amount of killing intent flooded the bridge, reminding everyone of what happened a week ago.

"It took you quite a while to come, Sarutobi. I hope you didn't mind that I killed them, I was getting bored of waiting for you."

Despite the seemingly evil comment, Asuma knew it was only meant for a show of some kind. He could see the hunter ninja next to Zabuza and turned to Naruto. The blond nodded, even if Asuma never opened his mouth. He knew what the man wanted to say anyway. Zabuza noticed it too and quickly summoned five mizu bunshins at them. Unleashing his kodashi, Naruto sliced them faster than before, earning smiles from Asuma and Zabuza. Asuma smiled because his training worked and Naruto was much faster even without the Sharingan. Zabuza smiled as well and turned to the hunter ninja.

"It seems you found your rival for speed, huh?" The hunter nodded, before seeing Zabuza unleashing his Zanbato and charging Asuma. The Konoha jounin ushered Chouji and Ino and protect the client, before Zabuza was already on him, with his Zanbato. Asuma parried the attack with his chakra infused knives and managed to send him away with a kick on Zabuza's chest. Naruto eventually remained alone with the hunter ninja as they took their time staring at one another for a while. The mask made things difficult for Naruto, because he couldn't use the Sharingan to its full effect. He could however use to trace the amounts of chakra residue left by the hunter ninja's movements. He didn't know if his eyes were necessary now, but it was a nice backup plan if the enemy was too strong for him to deal with without the Sharingan.

Positioning his sword accordingly, Naruto's body dropped into a battle formation. He held the kodashi reversibly and in front of him, so as to attack and defend at the same time.

"Let's see if you have the skills to stop me genin." The voice sounded familiar to Naruto, but he didn't have time to pounder on it as Haku vanished from her position and quickly threw senbons at Naruto.

He parried all of them with the kodashi and met Haku half way, surprising the woman with the same level of speed. In order to parry the kodashi, Haku positioned three senbons on her left hand and stopped the blade. Naruto trained too long with the Anbu Tori to realize that holding a battle of force was never the right way of kenjutsu. He released the grip of the sword a little bit and moved when Haku bended her body slightly in order to accommodate with the sudden loss of force. Naruto positioned to her side and swung his kodashi in order to end it, but Haku had more speed than that and evaded the attack, before using the senbons as claws, aiming them directly at Naruto's stomach. His sword was too far from the attack to be used, so Naruto performed some back flips, before grabbing some shurikens from his kunai holster and threw the projectiles at Haku. She was about to use the senbons and deflect them when she saw Naruto doing hand seals.

_**Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **__(Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)_

The four shurikens multiplied into twenty, forcing Haku to use the water wall technique and block them from impaling her. When the water attack was released, the woman was surprised upon seeing Naruto charging at her so suddenly. She managed to block the sword once more and started one hand seals with her free hand, shocking Naruto because he never once saw someone doing one handed seals before. A strong geyser erupted from the sea below them, before Naruto saw a whole lot of needles being formed from the column of water. He immediately moved from his position, if not the needles would be the end of him. Haku took advantage of Naruto's lack of attention and landed a fierce kick on his stomach, sent him flying. The kick was laced with chakra and it hurt quite badly. Naruto saw the same technique being used once more and realized that he was in mid-air and couldn't evade. Looking to his surroundings, he spotted a piece of debris and used it for the replacement jutsu, along with a nice present for the hunter-nin.

The needles managed to pin Naruto and the hunter-nin approached his body to ascertain his death. She was surprised when a piece of debris appeared laced with an exploding tag ready to blow.

* * *

**===With Asuma===**

So far the battle between jounins was setting Asuma on edge. Zabuza's method of strategy consisted of lifting the heavy fog and waiting for Asuma to use a fuuton jutsu to get rid of it, before Zabuza appeared and attempted to kill Asuma when he was busy. Despite knowing the M.O, Asuma couldn't let the mist remain, or else Zabuza would be in his field of expertise. As soon as Zabuza lifted the mist once more, instead of using a fuuton jutsu, Asuma decided to attempt something else. A jutsu of his own creation would surprise Zabuza a lot as he wouldn't be expecting a different kind of mist.

_**Katon Haisekishou (**__Fire Release: Burning Ash Accumulation Technique__**)**_

Asuma expelled ash from his mouth until it mixed with the mist. He saw Zabuza looking around wondering what was happening when Asuma smiled, before he clicked his teeth. Zabuza ended being engulfed in the explosion. He managed to escape the blast, but his body received second degree burns. Zabuza looked at the man in front of him with anger written in his face. Nothing mattered right now, just Sarutobi Asuma's death. His eyes were red with anger. He placed his sword on his back, before going through hand seals, a long series of hand seals. Asuma was already on edge. He cursed himself from not moving as soon as Zabuza started the sequence and got prepared for anything. Zabuza finished the hand seal sequence with the bird seal, before two gigantic geysers of water rose from both sides of the bridge. Asuma noticed the columns transforming into dragons.

_**Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu **__(Water Release: Water Dragon Projectile Technique)_

The two dragons rushed straight at Asuma, who lifted a wind barrier around him. When the first one hit the barrier, it dissolved instantly and still had enough power to land a fierce blow on Asuma's chest. The jounin saw the second one coming with its jaw opened wide, ready to land a hit that would knock him down for sure. After that, Zabuza would just take his time and slice Asuma's throat with a kunai. The jounin couldn't allow this. Going through hand seals in mid-air, Asuma decided to stop the jutsu before it ever reached his position. This jutsu would just serve to stop Zabuza's or at least slow it down so that Asuma could escape in time.

_**Katon Dai Endan **__(Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)_

The two techniques met each other and the fireball was quickly extinguished by Zabuza's dragon. The white smoke produced allowed Asuma to escape and hide at the same time.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

Haku managed to escape from the blast, but as soon as she evaded the explosion, she landed exactly where Naruto was expecting her to, allowing him to make hand seals.

_**Katon Dai Endan **__(Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)_

Haku turned to the sudden ball of fire, but couldn't evade in time. Naruto became prepared for anything, realizing that if he dropped his guard prematurely, he would be dead. So far, the hunter showed much more skill than him, he realized. If that single piece of debris wasn't there, he would have to resort to his eyes and that would show that he wasn't strong enough without the Sharingan to stop this foe. He saw the water wall technique being used once more, before the hunter ninja materialized from within the fire, walking towards him. The enemy's clothes were seriously burned as well as the mask, but Naruto wasn't sure if his or her body was affected by it. Water natured attacks tend to overcome fire jutsus more easily. With a smile, Naruto realized that perhaps it would be more prudent to use other type of jutsus. Water's main weakness was earth.

"You're very skilled for a genin. However, it's time to end this as Zabuza-sama needs me. _**Hyoton Makyou Hyoushou**__ (Ice Release: Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors Technique)_"

Naruto looked around as mirrors started forming around him, trapping him inside. Haku, then, literally entered in one of the mirrors, before his image appeared in all of them. Naruto sensing the danger of the technique grabbed his second sword for the first time in a battle. He has been practicing in secret how to use two swords and he had the feeling that he needed to use them. Looking around, he cursed upon not knowing which one was the original opponent. Therefore, he realized that the hunter-nin could attack from all positions and he wouldn't be aware. He doubted if his swords would be enough to defend himself against whatever came.

"There is nothing you can do now, since you're trapped in here. I don't wish to kill you, but if you prevent me from aiding Zabuza-sama, then I must." For some reason, Naruto found this amusing.

"Perhaps you'd be the first opponent who doesn't want to kill me. Forgive me if I remain skeptical. Your technique may appear threatening, but I have something that will aid me better than you think." Now it was not the time to test yourself, Naruto wondered. If he didn't use it, chances were that this foe might actually kill him. Haku saw that Naruto's eyes were different now. Instead of the usual black eyes, now it was red with three tomes. "I wonder how long can you hold this technique of yours until you exhaust your chakra supply, hunter-nin." Naruto got into position with his swords, as Haku initiated her attacks, throwing a rain of senbons from all directions. Her eyes, though, couldn't be deceiving her. The genin in front of her was using his swords to deflect all of her senbons, doing so at a speed that even outmatched her own. Haku didn't relent however and bombarded Naruto once more. Much to her ire, however, the conclusion was the same. The blond genin managed to block each and every one of the senbons.

"What's the meaning of this? You weren't this fast a minute ago." While throwing senbons, she questioned him.

"Perhaps, you know very little about the Sharingan, then. With it, I can see the movements coming at a far slower pace."

Naruto deflected the last one, before placing both swords on the ground. Going through hand seals, he chose a jutsu that would be able to eliminate all mirrors at the same time.

_**Doton Doryuusou**__ (Earth Release: Earth Rising Spears Technique)_

Slamming both hands on the ground, he manipulated enough earth chakra to extend the earth spears longer than normally would be. He directed each spear to one of the mirrors and since earth chakra beats water, the mirrors were defenseless against the onslaught. One by one, the mirrors cracked due to the pressure of the spears and one of them managed to pierce the mirror that Haku was in. In result, the spear ended piercing the hunter's stomach. Haku was an ice user, having both water and wind affinities. Therefore, her body was weak against both earth and fire techniques. Naruto was perhaps the worst opponent she could ever face.

As soon as the mirrors shattered, Ino and Chouji saw the hunter down and Naruto standing. Both of them managed to breathe more easily, only now acknowledging that they were holding their breath in anticipation. Naruto went to help Asuma, but he didn't need to worry as he could see that Zabuza had his right arm broken and his other arm bleeding severely. His threat has ended. Asuma noticed that Naruto was next to him and asked what became of the hunter-nin. He turned and saw the hunter-nin on the ground, not moving.

"You had to use your eyes, didn't you?" An embarrassed blush appeared on Naruto's face, but he merely nodded.

"I can't believe that someone actually beat Haku. You're someone else, kid." Zabuza was almost closing his eyes, because of the amount of pain caused by Asuma's wind techniques.

"Well…well. To believe that the great demon of the mist was beaten by mere kids, oh how the mighty have fallen. As a matter of fact, these goons ended up aiding me as I never intended to pay you Zabuza."

The voice of his contractor infuriated the demon as he turned to see the midget flanked by his samurai goons.

"Gatou…" Zabuza snarled so fiercely, before turning to his ex-enemies.

"Asuma, you managed to beat me, and I'm no longer your opponent. I only ask one thing of you." Asuma nodded, waiting for the question. "Please give me a kunai. I've always wanted that midget's head."

The jounin smiled and threw a kunai up in the air towards Zabuza, who simply nodded and grabbed it with his mouth.

A bloodbath followed next as Zabuza used a mere kunai to kill all of the goons, before decapitating Gatou's head. His face was one of shock, even in death.

* * *

**Author Note**

And it's the end of the wave arc.

A little less interaction between Naruto and Haku, but it was indeed my intention. She won't make that much of a difference in his life as it did in canon. Also, I wasn't interested in making a scene with Inari, so he won't exist.

Overall, I have decided to finish it all in one chapter as I'm thinking of another C-ranked mission arc before the beginning of the chunnin exams.

I have also released new information of my OC character and I intend to release more in the upcoming chapters. It's still going to take a while before she appears fully.

Tell me what you think.

See ya.


	10. Summoning Contract

**Author Note**

Hello there and welcome to my first update of 2012.

Last chapter, I started and finished the wave arc. One and only reason for that was that I didn't want to split such a short arc in two chapters. Now would be the chunnin exams, right?

**WRONG. **

As I stated before, Naruto's team will have another mission before the exams. It doesn't mean that I won't move on to the chunnin exams right after the mission, but it won't start right away. I've got a lot of good reviews, which means I'm on the right track here. One review, though, which I won't say, came up with an interesting discussion about elements. We all know that Water is weak against earth, hence why Naruto's earth was stronger than Haku's water. This review, though, stated that because it was ice (water and wind), earth wouldn't be stronger anymore. I happen to disagree because ice is merely frozen water (I know how dumb this phrase sounds, but its true). Wind is just the catalyst between water in its liquid form and in its solid form (ice).

* * *

Now, below are the responses for some of the reviews (**only those with questions made**)

**Starxwind** – Asuma only whispered it to him and because of the heavy mist, Zabuza couldn't actually see much.

**OregonDucks** – Sorry, I don't. However, I'll be giving him new ones this chapter.

**Joao brasileiro** – In order to build more teamwork between his teammates, Naruto revealed what the Sharingan does, but in actuality, whatever information he released was public knowledge about the Uchiha Clan's doujutsu. They would be better off reading about in a book. As for Chouji picking up on Naruto's speed, well it may have come out wrong when I said that, really. But Naruto wouldn't use his full speed against Chouji in a spar, just enough so that the Akimichi could fight him. Indeed, Akimichis are not built for speed, but perhaps if Chouji focused a bit on agility, he could better apply his powerful but slow movements.

**Mordread** – No, Haku is dead. As to the Mangenkyou, I'm still not sure if he'll get it. The power behind the Mangenkyou is too god-like and Naruto wouldn't have many opposition. He definitely won't have the Rinnegan, though.

**Ccebling** – I'm still undecided on the Mangenkyou thing, but if I were to give him that, his wouldn't come with the same disease, seeing as he has Kyuubi inside of him, healing everything. So, giving the Eternal Mangenkyou seems illogical, considering its irrelevance. So far, the only difference between the Eternal Mangenkyou and the Mangenkyou is that the Eternal carry no side effects. Naruto wouldn't need to worry about said disease, because of the fur ball paying rent inside his stomach.

**Raidentensho** – It's a great idea. I suppose I could come up with something like that for him. You know where I can find information on Aoshi's style of kenjutsu.

* * *

Ok that's it for the answers.

Here is the chapter.

Nice reading.

* * *

**Chapter 10 – Summoning Contract**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

It had been a couple weeks since Team 10's return from Wave Country and they managed to accomplish a good number of ten D-ranked missions since then. The genins spent the great majority of their time honing their skills both under Asuma's and their respective clan's teachings, in Ino and Chouji's case. In Naruto's case, he was now practicing advanced kenjutsu against his Anbu partner Tora. Both of them were using two swords this time and Tora could see Naruto's improvement since they started the training session. The man even dared to believe that Naruto began to aid him as a formidable kenjutsu partner for regular spars. Within Anbu, there weren't many specialists in the art of swords that could go toe to toe with him and even if Naruto was using the Sharingan, the genin was showing some advanced skills for someone so young. The two has been going at it for more than half an hour now and neither began to show any signs of being tired. However, Tora realized that he overstayed his welcome today and that he needed to be at the Anbu compound in a few minutes to meet a new member for his team. He parried one last strike from Naruto's sword, before he created some distance from the genin.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I must cut our training short. I have to present early today." The blond nodded, before placing his swords inside its respective scabbards, which were located on his back.

"Ok Tora-sensei, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." The Sharingan genin bowed in respect, before seeing a scroll being tossed right in front of him. Naruto lifted and looked at his sensei with a questioning look.

"From your file, you have both fire and earth affinities, both of them quite strong in their own right. That scroll before you contains advanced level manipulation exercises for both affinities. Consider it a gift for improving in your kenjutsu."

Naruto grabbed the scroll, before looking at the man one more time.

"Isn't this supposed to be Anbu restricted knowledge? I don't have access to this." He could hear a snort from Tora.

"I won't tell anyone if that's what you're worried about. Plus, I have a feeling that with that, your elemental techniques will catapult in strength with less chakra required. You've earned my respect as a shinobi, Naruto. That is not only a gift for your improvement but also a gift from one kenjutsu master to another. It's been quite some time since I've been tested in the art of swordplay and I can see it's just the beginning of your strength and skill. I bet that in no time you'll surpass me, even without those eyes of yours." Despite being rather reserved for his age and not emotionally open, Naruto couldn't help but smile upon being acknowledged by a high ranking shinobi and his sensei.

"Thanks Tora-sensei, I won't let you down."

The man nodded, before vanishing within a shunshin. He knew that Naruto would be immediately hooked by the info on the scroll, so he didn't even bother saying goodbye. Naruto didn't even acknowledge his partner slash sensei's presence or absence as he began to study the scroll with extra focus. He would normally jump to elemental training after the kenjutsu practice against Tora. However, if he managed to increase his knowledge regarding fire and earth elemental manipulation, he would then be able to increase the power of his elemental techniques and diminish the chakra necessary for it. It was a marvelous gift and he remembered to thank Tora for it tomorrow morning.

* * *

**===Inside the Anbu HQ===**

As soon as Tora entered inside the compound, he went to the specific Anbu training ground where his team usually met before assignments. As expected, the two members of his team were already there flanking the third and new member he was supposed to meet. Another kunoichi, but this one was different, his superior said. Tora wasn't against women inside the Anbu, seeing as his team was composed of three kunoichis. However, one got terribly hurt during a mission last week and had to face early retirement. Now, with one member short, his team was reduced to simpler missions and within the village's perimeter. This new recruit happened to be a junior Anbu, so he was more relieved just by this fact. The thought of training a normal jounin into Anbu routine was too troublesome right now. Her long blue hair could be seen from a distance as Tora approached the middle of the training field. Much to his surprise, the kunoichi was quite beautiful with her fringe that covered her right eye. She had dark blue eyes that showed a much more serious expression. Her clothes were standard Anbu with fingerless gloves and black arm protectors. Holding her eagle mask, Itsuko was busy conversing with her new teammates while awaiting their captain.

"Welcome recruit Itsuko, codename Eagle. As you already know, I'm your captain Tora. Even if you're already part of this team, I feel compelled to run a test to see your skills first hand. First, though, can you give me an estimate of them?"

"Certainly; Tora-taichou. I'm a taijutsu specialist with extensive knowledge of doton and raiton ninjutsu. My genjutsu skills are rather limited, as I'm able to only detect and dispel up to B-ranked illusions." The captain nodded, while wondering about the ninjato strapped on her back and the fact that she didn't mention her kenjutsu skills. It wasn't mandatory for Anbu to know kenjutsu, just to have adequate control. He turned to his already existing subordinates, before nodding at them to test the new member.

"Okay, then, I'll access your strength in a straight combat against your two teammates. Don't hold back or they'll wipe the floor with you." Itsuko smirked at the test, before falling into a taijutsu formation as she faced her teammates. One thing she enjoyed the most was a good fight.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

The boy just kept reading the scroll without even acknowledging the fact that it has been two hours since Tora left him towards the Anbu Headquarters. Every piece of information hooked him worse than cocaine to a junkie. Manipulating fire like it was explained on the scroll was unheard of. Diminishing and increasing fire was something he never thought of before. Also, creating figures from manipulating earth was a brilliant idea. Not only did it allow him more control, but also could give him more ideas for new jutsus. The objective behind the manipulation was to diminish his chakra expenditure for each and every technique. Looking at the time, though, he realized that he wouldn't have time to put what he studied into practice, so he settled to read the entire thing. It took him half an hour to finish the contents for fire and earth manipulation. If the contents of the scroll weren't enticing enough to him, certainly the last phrase of the scroll was.

_The amount of control over fire and earth elements can lead to the creation of a new power, which is the union of both elements, called __**Youton**__ (lava release). Theories believe it to be a bloodline, but there were many who already achieved said level without any known back ground._

The union of elements wasn't a foreign concept to Naruto. He did read something about ninjas from other lands with the ability of merging wind and water elements, creating ice. He was alien, though, to the possibility of merging earth and fire to create lava. Perhaps, if he trained both elements hard enough, he could achieve such level of manipulation. Naruto considered asking either Asuma or Kakashi about the possibility, but for now he would consider it a hidden experiment. For now, he was still due to master the exercises that were described on the scroll. One thing that it could be said of Naruto, though, was that when an idea came, it was rather difficult or almost impossible to get rid of it. Right now, though, he needed to run because his team meeting was about to start. As he calmly headed to the meeting place, though, he couldn't get his mind away from the last phrase on the scroll about the possibility of achieving the ability to merger the elements.

* * *

**===With Team 10===**

After arriving, Naruto was surprised to see that he was the last one to arrive. He saw both Chouji and Ino practicing some advances chakra control exercises for warm-ups. It wasn't considered a spar, just a game with Chouji chasing after Ino from the trees. Ino would use her agility together with tree and water walking as she escaped from Chouji who needed to do the same in order to catch her. It was an ingenious idea created by Asuma-sensei as it not only increased their chakra control, but also their chakra capacity and agility. Naruto settled for looking at them, as he approached his sensei's position. The jounin noticed and turned to greet the blond.

"Good morning Naruto, I thought that something happened to you, since you're usually the first one here." Naruto eventually told Asuma that he trained with an Anbu every morning, so he didn't need to lie about it.

"Got a little excited with the kenjutsu practice and we took it longer than usual. What will happen for us today, Asuma-sensei?"

"Just a little practice before we go to the Hokage's office. I think is due time we grab another C-ranked mission today." Naruto nodded, before joining Chouji in capturing Ino, much to her complaint. Asuma smiled upon seeing his team's interaction. At first, it was difficult because of the rumors, but now Chouji and Ino were normal around their third teammate. It didn't take long for the boys to get Ino, before both Ino and Chouji joined together after Naruto. At the beginning, they had trouble catching Naruto and when they did, he was already tired of continuing with the game and simply stopped running. Now, though, they managed to give him more challenge by using a couple of clan techniques to slow him down.

Eventually, Asuma ended the warm-up exercises and took his team to the Hokage's building for a new mission, preferably a C-ranked. Asuma knew that his team was ready for another, since the one in Wave ended up being an A-ranked and they still came out unscathed. He had high hopes for all three of them throughout the years to come. He was the one leading the team throughout the village with Naruto following right behind and the rest behind him. Ino and Chouji were talking about their respective clan trainings and new techniques that they were hoping to learn quite soon, while Naruto was silent, with a clear look of contemplation. Were he to realize the rather ambitious thoughts that passed through Naruto's head right now, he would be hard pressed not to consider the possibility of merging elements. The blond, for his part, considered studying as much as he could on the subject of Youton ninjutsu.

Quite possibly, the library could provide him with information about the subject.

Obviously, he wasn't expecting to find a book called 'how to merge elements', but he was sure that any data recorded throughout the years on said special manipulation would be there. He just had to grasp through the many books and gather as much information as possible. Meanwhile, he needed to train both his fire and earth nature to the maximum of his ability. Before even starting the new element, he must have a firm grasp on both of his already existing natures, preferably mastering them. So involved in his thoughts was Naruto, that the genin didn't even register that his team had already entered the Hokage's building and was standing right in front of the old man's office.

After knocking on the door, Asuma opened the door, before presenting his team for duty.

"Oh team 10, here for a mission, I see." The jounin Sarutobi nodded to the senior Sarutobi.

"Yes Hokage-sama, I believe we're ready for another C-ranked mission, if there's any available." The Hokage nodded, letting them know of the existence of said mission.

"Ah yes, I have one right here. A group of merchants desires to deliver some goods in Snow Country and are in need of protection. It's a rather long trip and a rather cold one. The travel shouldn't be too difficult, with only bandits being expected throughout the journey. The mission should begin tomorrow morning and your team should meet the client at the location described on a map that is inside the mission scroll. Your team must leave quite early in order to make it. I take it from your smile that you accept the mission, Asuma?"

The jounin nodded once more, never losing the smile off his face.

"We'll take it, Hokage-sama." Asuma said, before talking to his genin. "Meet me tomorrow at 0600 hours here at the Hokage's Building. It should be a long trip, so pack accordingly. And don't forget to bring clothes for the cold weather. Snow Country isn't just a name." The genins nodded, before the team left the Hokage's office. Naruto, for his part, couldn't be happier that the mission would only start tomorrow, meaning that he had enough time to reach the library and gather some intel on youton ninjutsu. Afterward, he could even practice some of the exercises described on the scroll that he received from his kenjutsu instructor. He bid his teammates and jounin-sensei goodbye for today, before vanishing.

Neither Ino nor Chouji believed in doing some training today as they needed to rest as much as possible today for their mission tomorrow.

Asuma, for his part, figured that he could find a certain brunette jounin and ask her out.

* * *

**===Next day===**

As soon as the sun was up, team Asuma was waiting in front of the Hokage's Building for their sensei. All three of the genins were on time and Ino was already planning on beating her sensei for forcing them to wake up so early just to wait his sorry ass. Naruto was busy reading a scroll of notes he gathered from yesterday. When he attempted to enter the library for the first time, the librarian didn't allow him entrance for obvious reasons. He had to henge into Kakashi in order to grant entrance and he even had access to jounin reserved material. He even informed his surrogate brother of what he did and he got clearance from said man. Naruto heard that he would talk to the Hokage about it. Naruto, though, wasn't even worried about that as the information he managed to acquire was quite extensive. He managed to find a lot of material on a couple of shinobis from other villages that are known to be able to merge fire and earth ninjutsu.

According to his info, he found two ninjas from Iwagakure and one from Kumogakure with the ability. He even wrote a couple of known jutsus for later.

Chouji was busy having his own breakfast consisting of a bag of chips. The team waited for fifteen minutes, before Asuma arrived via shunshin. He had an embarrassed look on his face as he tried to apologize for his lateness. Naruto wasn't much affected, seeing as he knew that no one would be later than Kakashi and Chouji was more interested in finishing his bag of chips. It was Ino, though, who yelled at him much to his expectations. The pounding took close to five minutes, when Ino abruptly stopped and smirked all of a sudden. Asuma's danger sense was tingling as he saw the look on Ino's face. It was the look of a predator upon catching it's pray.

"What's that on your neck, Asuma-sensei?" The jounin's eyes widened immediately as both Chouji and Naruto looked at Asuma's neck only to see that a small area was slightly red in color.

"Oh it was nothing….just a training accident." Asuma said, trying to dissuade his genins of the truth.

"It's quite similar to the one I found on Kakashi's neck the other day, Asuma-sensei. And I'm pretty sure his wasn't caused when training." One thing about the Sharingan was that Naruto learned to interpret body language. Also, he had caught Kakashi and Kasumi on the act once on top of a roof top. It was weird to see such a thing, but they stopped as soon as Kakashi sensed his presence approaching. Asuma looked at his blond student and wondered who Kakashi was seeing. Deciding to drop the subject, Asuma told his genins to go find the client. Unfortunately, he couldn't control Ino's need for gossip as the girl kept asking about Asuma's girlfriend the entire journey towards the client, who was stationed a few miles near the Fire Country's capital. The team managed to arrive just at the nick of time and Asuma approached an elder man who appeared to be the leader of the bunch.

"Greetings, Kurosuki-san, I presume." The man nodded, before Asuma smiled. "My name is Sarutobi Asuma and this is my team, Uzumaki Naruto, Akimichi Chouji and Yamanaka Ino." Asuma pointed as he said each name. "We are here to provide protection for your caravan towards Snow Country." The man named Kurosuki maintained his arms crossed as he studied the jounin for a while. He, if possible, looked older than the Sandaime Hokage and his eyes appeared closed because of the old and wrinkled skin around his eyes. He had gray hair and wore simple clothes, composed of a gray kimono and gray sandals.

"I was hoping for more professionalism coming from Konoha, Asuma-san. I just hope your team makes up for the lack of punctuality." Asuma nodded and bowed to the client. His smile was evident, though.

"Please accept my dearest apologies, Kurosuki-san. My team will not disappoint." The man grunted and turned to order his family to proceed while Asuma turned to his team. "Ok team, we'll divide in two. Naruto and Ino will be on the front while I and Chouji will be at the back. There are a total of three caravans, so it should be quite easy to protect. Keep your eyes pilled, everyone. Naruto, remember to use your eyes every now and then to pinpoint chakra residues throughout the journey." His team nodded, before getting into position. The weather, so far, was normal and no cloud was seen at the horizon. Naruto and Ino moved up ahead as the caravans started moving.

Two hours passed in a blink as the caravans were heading at Fire Country's harbor for the crossing towards Snow Country.

By this time, Ino was seen with a bored expression on her face as nothing of notice happened. She turned to her teammate and saw him looking around with his red Sharingan eyes activated. His face showed complete focus on the mission despite the fact that nothing happened so far. As soon as he deactivated the eyes, Ino smiled knowing that he didn't see anything. So, she figured that starting a conversation would help pass the time.

"So, Naruto…" Ino said, as the blond looked at her. "Do you know who Asuma-sensei is seeing right now?" Naruto wasn't much fond of gossiping, but he wasn't going to be rude to Ino.

"I don't know. He seems to act differently around the jounin-sensei of Team 8, but I don't know her name." Even if he didn't enjoy gossiping, Ino appeared satisfied with the answer as she absorbed the information and started processing it. She didn't know her name, either, but as a girl, she recognized her description. Ino remembered seeing her for the first time and immediately became jealous of how perfect the woman was. Naruto saw that Ino became quiet all of a sudden and went back to his scouting. As soon as he activated his eyes once more, he caught chakra residues coming from their right. "Ino, go and warn Asuma-sensei. I just caught five presences hidden behind those rocks to our right." The girl forgot her detective mode and nodded as Naruto remained focus.

It didn't take long for Ino to return with the response.

"Asuma-sensei said to continue and act only if they attack." Naruto nodded as he continued walking. It didn't take long, though, for the group of bandits to appear, but Naruto was already prepared and unleashed ten shurikens at the group. Chouji immediately vanished and went after the bandits, while Naruto kept them occupied. The caravan stopped immediately upon hearing the threat and Kurosuki appeared next to Naruto with a hidden dagger in his hand. Naruto's shurikens managed to hurt the majority of the bandits, allowing Chouji ample time to use his clan's technique and capture every one of the bandits, before beating them up until they were unconscious. He tied them quite thoroughly, using a special rope made with chakra to amplify its resistance. Asuma sent out a letter to the Local Police in order to capture the criminals. Kurosuki returned his dagger to its hidden place inside his kimono, but said nothing in appreciation.

Naruto wasn't expecting any, as it was their mission to provide protection for the caravan.

An hour later, the caravan reached the harbor and got on board the ship that would take them to Snow Country. Asuma considered their mission so far and how far it extended. As far as they were concerned, the protection were due until they reached Snow Country. He didn't know if the client required protection after crossing the border. Before he had the time to ask the client about it, Kurosuki appeared and began a conversation with Asuma.

"It appears that I underestimated your genins, Asuma-san. They handled the threat with impressive efficiency. Now, I believe we should discuss the extension of your mission."

Asuma looked at the man for a while beginning to regret ever accepting the mission.

"I spoke with your Hokage about the possibility of us requiring further protection once inside Snow Country, if we failed to find someone who could provide us once inside Snow Country. I'm prepared to pay the equivalent of a B-ranked mission, if money is your concern." Asuma narrowed his eyebrows at the man. Travelling to a foreign country, even if a neutral one such as Snow Country, was ill advised for his team. There were simply too many situations that could happen and he had three genins to watch out for. He was already informed of this through the mission scroll and he even asked his father about it. The acceptance would be his call and if necessary, Asuma could call for backup.

"Before accepting it Kurosuki-san, I need to know the cargo's destination. I know nothing of Snow Country's situation right now." The old man didn't want to, but he ended up revealing it either way.

"My cargo is to be delivered to a village located a few miles from the country's harbor. I'll deliver supplies to their rebellion against the current ruler of Snow Country. Once we deliver the goods, we'll turn and head back to Fire Country. My contact expects no retaliation, whatsoever." The man's tone indicated to Asuma that he was assuming no retaliation. Nevertheless, he didn't find the need to back down from this as he had no knowledge of a ninja force in Snow Country. That didn't mean, though, that he would carry out this mission. If it's considered a B-ranked, then chances are that he will be more involved. Together, his genins could take on chunnin level shinobi, but jounins were a different story.

"We'll proceed Kurosuki-san, however if I see that the mission turns to A-ranked, you're on your own. Hokage-same gave me authority to back off if the mission increases in difficulty."

Asuma was beginning to grow tired of talking to clients who lied to Konoha about the missions. The client made no movement to show how outraged he was at the possibility of Konoha abandoning them.

In his mind, the ninja shouldn't back down no matter what the cost. He just nodded at Asuma and went back to the ship's chambers, while Asuma went to check on his genins. Both Ino and Chouji were asleep inside the vessel, but Naruto was wide awake and seating at the front deck. He appeared to be reading the same scroll he was reading in Konohagakure. The boy was so fixed on the scroll's contents that he didn't even register that his sensei was approaching. As soon as he saw Asuma's shadow, though, he casually closed the scroll, before turning to his sensei with a surprised expression, as if he didn't realize that Asuma was already there. Asuma smiled at that, though, but didn't bother to comment.

"Why aren't you sleeping Naruto-kun?" The bags below his eyes were always evident, despite the fact that Naruto was never tired.

"Sleeping is rather difficult for me Asuma-sensei. Every time I close my eyes, the same dream happens." Asuma frowned at that. He was informed of the content of Naruto's dreams, consisting of Uchiha Sasuke's memories. It was a pity that such tool came with such responsibility. Naruto could very well be the strongest shinobi out there, not only because of the sharingan, but also because of his never ending stamina and chakra supply. However, said power came with the memories of another person. Asuma wondered if Naruto would ever be able to rid his mind of the visions that plagued Sasuke's until the Uchiha Massacre. From what Asuma gathered, Itachi used the world's strongest genjutsu on Sasuke, making him see his clan being killed many times. Now, the blond inherited said vision. The jounin was worried for Naruto's mentality. He thanked Kami that Naruto had friends to support him, otherwise he feared that Naruto's mind wouldn't take the strain.

"If it helps, I sometimes force different thoughts in my mind before sleeping. You should try that sometime. If you need anything, I'll be in my cabin."

Naruto nodded, before being left alone once more. Nowadays, it was better than before. He now had close to three hours' worth of sleep whereas before, he wasn't that lucky. That being said, Naruto only slept that period of time and woke up once the dream started. He would then take turns in sleeping and force himself to wake up if it starts once more. Itachi must have done something to Sasuke to force said memories to appear every time he tried to sleep.

* * *

**===Next day===**

Naruto managed to get some sleep, before the sun was up once more.

As soon as he appeared outside, he saw that the boat was approaching the land in front of them. Despite the cape used, Naruto wasn't much accustomed to such low temperatures and focused some fire chakra inside him so as to remain warmed. His teammates didn't have his ability with fire chakra and were struggling to remain warm. Asuma smiled at that and explained to them that molding chakra would help keeping the body warm throughout their stay in Snow Country. It took half an hour for the boat to arrive, before the group continued the travel throughout the only part of the road that wasn't covered by snow. The horses weren't very accustomed as well and struggled to pull the caravans. Naruto and Ino returned to their position as Ino was already trembling from the cold.

Suddenly, though, she felt something warm near Naruto and smiled upon seeing a small flame on top of his hand.

"Stay close Ino, the flame will help you." The girl nodded and took one step closer to her teammate as her body relaxed when in proximity to the flames.

"Thank you Naruto, but wouldn't it be best to save some chakra?" Naruto smiled, but nodded.

"What good would it be if you freeze to death? I have enough chakra to spare, so it's no problem." The girl shivered at that notion of freezing to death and appreciated the help. Maintaining the fire, though, wasn't straining his chakra capacity, but his chakra coils. It was one of the exercises shown by the scroll. Naruto had to constantly mold fire chakra in a small capacity, so as to not endanger his chakra coils and keep the flame active as well. Like the client assumed, there were no danger on the way towards the cargo's destination. In the end, the severe blizzard managed to hide their presence to anyone who wished to attack. The client appreciated Asuma's help for the trip and handed him the money for a B-ranked mission. He also said that he would remain there and that he had no need for further protection. The jounin nodded and bid him goodbye, before returning to the boat.

The group was slowly returning to the harbor when Naruto spotted something to his right. Despite the heavy blizzard, he could see the shape of a considerably sized white tiger with black stripes walking by. For some reason, the blond felt compelled to approach the beast that appeared to be sniffing around for some food. Naruto stopped as soon as the animal stopped walking, before human and animal started looking at each other. Naruto's team stopped upon seeing this and looked at what Naruto was seeing. Suddenly, the eyes of the beast started glowing red and Naruto flinched instantly, upon feeling his chakra being invaded. He immediately activated his Sharingan and saw with surprise that he was caught in a genjutsu. He could see what was happening, though, but didn't dispel the illusion. He was in a place where the only presences were himself and the tiger in front of him.

'_**I can see that you have the power of the Sharingan, young one. Thus you could see past my illusion.' **__Naruto had to blink twice in order to grasp what was happening. The tiger was talking to him. __**'My kind have been roaming these lands for a long time in search for someone with the same ability of illusions. I wonder if you have what it takes in order to be our first summoner. You certainly possess the eyes of a born warrior, but we are still due to test your heart and drive.' **_

Naruto's eyes widened instantly at what the tiger was saying. At first, though, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him.

'_**I can assure you, young one, that I'm quite real. I can see a powerful entity hidden within you. It's the Kyuubi no Yoko.' **_ Naruto could hear the apprehension in the tiger's voice, if such a thing even existed. _**'I see, you are a jinchuuriki. I believe our clan has finally found someone worthy of being the first tiger summoner. If you manage to keep the beast at bay, then your will must be strong, young Naruto.' **_

'_How do you know my name and how do you know of the Kyuubi?' _

_Naruto asked as he wasn't sure of what was going on. _

'_**Through our eyes, we can look inside you. Everything that ever happened in your life, we can see. You suffered a great deal throughout your life and yet you remain fighting. Said drive followed by your skill is what grants you the right to call upon us. Now, instead of signing a summoning scroll, you'll bear our summoning tattoo, please extend the arm you wish the tattoo to be located.' **__Naruto still couldn't believe this was happening. Why he of all people? Surely, someone was more valid candidate for the right to summon the tigers. The blond started trembling as the tiger tattoo was being formed on his right arm. He swore that the tiger was smirking, though. _

'_**Such humble thoughts you possess, Naruto. Now, every time you wish to summon one of us, just pass some blood on the tattoo and perform the hidden signs that I just engraved in your mind.'**_

'_**Use us any time you need, Naruto.'**_

On the outside world, Naruto's team was by his side and looking at him. Asuma saw the tiger vanishing as a yellow light started glowing on Naruto's arm. His teammates also saw it as both of them looked at their sensei for an explanation. Asuma was at a loss, though. He didn't know why that was happening. One second, Naruto was looking at the tiger and then this mark appeared on his arm. Naruto's eyes returned to normal as he looked around, wondering what the hell happened. His teammates waited for him to explain what happened.

"Naruto, what happened?" Asuma asked him, wakening the boy from his inner wonderings.

It took him a while to wake up, but he eventually explained what happened since the time he found the white tiger. At the end of the explanation, he showed the tattoo, earning questioned looks from his team. Simply finding a summoning contract out of the blue was unheard of. Asuma never heard of tigers being summoned. He ordered everyone to return to the boat, so that they could get home. On the way, Asuma would see Naruto looking at his arm as if contemplating the entire thing. It sounded strange even to him, Asuma reasoned. It didn't take twenty minutes for the team to arrive at the docks, before they boarded on the boat that would return to Fire Country.

As soon as they boarded, Naruto suddenly felt tired and went to his cabin, surprising Asuma. Naruto never once did such a thing.

* * *

**===In Fire Country===**

The trip back actually took longer as the captain didn't want to risk the ship by facing a storm. It took two days total and Naruto slept through the entire time, which worried his team greatly. It didn't mean that Naruto was so tired that he required two days of sleep, but rather the time it took for the procedure of being considered the first summoner of the tiger clan. During the time he slept, the entire knowledge of the tiger clan was infused into his mind. Not their chakra knowledge, mind you, but rather the names of different tora-nins he could summon and the chakra necessary for each one of them. For some reason, though, Naruto felt refreshed upon waking up. His shoulder was more relaxed and his movements were more fluid as his team travelled quickly towards Konohagakure.

Asuma, Ino and Chouji kept stealing glances at Naruto in order to see if he was okay.

However, Naruto showed no signs of suffering from anything. Quite the contrary, though, as the bags below his eyes were no more and his shoulders appeared more relaxed. Something happened with him after the encounter with that white tiger and Asuma would have to inform the Hokage of this immediately upon arrival. The entire trip took a total of five hours and they arrived when the sun was setting down for the day. Because of the time, Asuma sent his team home as he would report to the Hokage. Naruto already had a place to go. During his two day sleep, it was suggested that he changed his clothes to one more fitting to the tiger clan. He already had a design in mind and he was sure that the clothes shop would be able to supply for him. His dream outfit consisted of black boots, black Anbu pants with dark yellow stripes, plain black shirt with a tiger imprinted on his heart region and the swirl symbol on the back also yellow. He had a clothes shop in mind that would supply the clothes he needed without a problem. He now had to think of a proper way to hide his tattoo; perhaps some white bandages on both hands, since covering only one would be quite stupid. Lastly, he had to check on a special accessory, perhaps a belt placed around his shoulder, meant to place his swords scabbards.

**(AN: imagine the one used by Kakashi when he had his father's tanto)**

* * *

**===At the Hokage's office===**

It took some time for Asuma to explain what happened, before he saw the look on his father's face. Hiruzen had also never heard of a tiger clan and that was saying something. There wasn't much he didn't know in more than fifty years of ninja duty. Also, what troubled the Hokage was that when Naruto awoke, it appeared as if an amazing pressure was lifted from his shoulder. While it was refreshing to release the repressed memories inside Naruto's brain, the Hokage wasn't that much comforted. Everything about Naruto was to be treated as sensitive, considering the tenant inside of the boy. Looking at his son for a while, he figured that nothing would be done for now.

"Thanks for informing me, Asuma-kun. For now, we shall sit and wait. Now, I believe we have more pressing manners to attend to." The Hokage said, earning a nod from his son. "In a couple weeks' time, the Chunnin Exams will happen in Konoha and in two days, I'll be calling a meeting with the jounin-senseis to nominate the genins that will represent our village. Do you believe that your team has the skills necessary?" The jounin nodded, before placing a cigarette on his mouth as he contemplated the question.

"Naruto is no doubt ready for it. Chouji and Ino improved a lot since we started. I believe that they are eligible, Tou-san." The Hokage looked at the man for a while, before concurring. He nodded at his son, before dismissing him for the day.

For some reason, though, the Hokage was on edge. The Chunnin Exams is a time where the village is visited by a great number of individuals, including high officials and daimyos.

Even with the number of Anbus he had at his disposal, it would be hard to patrol the entire village, which leaves the hidden village in the leaves open for any village to attack.

* * *

**Author Note**

Well, that's the end of the chapter. Just to know that Naruto didn't get rid of the curse of Sasuke's sharingan. The fact that his mind was filled with new information of the tiger clan helped him sleep much better and partially compensate for the lack of sleep.

So, I finally presented my OC's identity. I placed a nice photo of her in my profile, so please check it out. It's not the same character, but the description is the same. From now on, I'll dedicate a small piece of the current chapters for her and the rest to Naruto, until it's time to introduce them. I'm still figuring out when the introduction is going to be and how, but I still have more story to complete before reaching that stage.

Now, next chapter will be both the First and second part of the Chunnin Exams, including the preliminaries.

So what you think? I'd like to hear some input about my work so far.

Also, for those who don't yet know, I've come up with three different challenges and post them in my profile. They were originally ideas for new stories, but if I were to put them into paper, chances were that people would find me and demand my head for this. Therefore, I chose to create challenges in order to allow others to write it. Perhaps, some new writer decides to take it and show us his or her skills. In the end, I'm always interested in quality written fan fiction. Should any of you consider taking the challenge, please send me the link of the story.

Please check it out.

See ya.


	11. Fateful encounter and Chunnin Exams

**Author Note**

Hi there and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes.

Last chapter, Naruto and his team managed to finish yet another C-ranked mission, earning themselves quite a reputation amongst the genin teams for larger number of successful missions. On top of that, Naruto had a rather enjoyable and equally profiting encounter with what appeared to be a lost summoning contract for Tigers. Now, it's time for the Chunnin Exams in Konoha and according to Asuma, he believes his team to be ready for it. Let's check it out how the exam goes. Before starting with the chapter, though, I'll answer the reviews from last chapter.

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**Laz**: Normally I don't bother responding reviews that simply criticize my work without at least justify the criticism. According to you, though, tigers are considered offensive animals, thus they couldn't possess abilities other than physical attacks. If you follow the anime, then you saw that the elder toads were able to use genjutsu, as well as varied ninjutsu. Not to mention that the majority of the toads uses weapons, that being sword or a staff. Take for instance, Itachi's crows. They can cast illusions as well. Now, I believe that you're not criticizing my choice for summon or the tiger's abilities, but rather the entire world created by Kishimoto. Have you ever heard of toads being able to spit oil? Can you imagine how amazing it would be, though? We wouldn't need to worry about mass oil production anymore, just preserve the toad species. Imagine the repercussions! Tigers are indeed suited for battles, but that does not mean that the species can't have other abilities like the toads.

**Mordread**: Yeah, Naruto won't sign the toad contract. Surely, Jiraiya won't like it, but it's not like he will be able to do something about it. Regarding Sage Mode, it isn't necessarily restricted to toads.

**Joao Brasileiro: **Naruto only shows a fraction of his abilities to his teammates. You forgot that every morning he trains in secret with an Anbu in Kenjutsu and is secretly training his elemental skills in order to merge both fire and earth, into lava. The blond only tells them when something happens right in front of them. He just doesn't start a conversation with anyone saying…'hey guess what I managed to do today.' He trains every day in order to improve his skills. So far, he's never gone all out against an opponent.

**Kmaster:** I'm indeed aware of the impossibility of two summoning contracts at the same time. Also, I have some ideas planned for Naruto and his new summoning clan.

**9TailedFoxBrat: **Not only are tigers strong physically, but they also possess abilities in hunting preys such as high speed and sensitive noses. I won't focus much in tracking, though.

**Hellfire44: **Naruto isn't fixed on killing Itachi, like Sasuke would be if he was alive. He continues to have the dreams, but so far he understands that what Itachi did wasn't against him, but Sasuke.

**Kiyoshi Fox**: He'll definitely learn the Rasengan, but I'm still undecided as to when.

**Whiteicewolf: **The knowledge of the Sharingan being implanted in Naruto is considered an S-ranked secret. I won't reveal what I have planned though, at least not before this chapter.

**Garuda 1 Talisman**: Wow, lots of questions. **1)** Yes, the Eagle Anbu will be Naruto's pairing, but it won't happen for a while. **2)** I'm still not sure if Naruto will develop the Mangenkyou. I'm still debating whether or not I would have to put him through intense situations or train his eyes like Kakashi did (Still, don't know how the man evolved his, but still). **3) **Naruto won't learn other affinities, just fire and earth. The lava training alone will take too much of his life to use it effectively, not to mention the fact that his style will be focused in using fire for offensive and earth for defensive, though sometimes he'll use earth techniques for attacks. 4) Lastly, regarding the Kyuubi, it will be the same as canon. Though he'll be more submissive, since Naruto has the sharingan and can control the fox. He won't use it, though, just when the fox tries something funny. Eventually, though, he'll learn how to use the fox's chakra.

**Chupii:** Yes, Itsuko will be his pairing. To me, it's only a plus that she is older than him. The reason, though, is personal. I tend to enjoy being around older women. The young ones, at least, the ones I met so far, are too shallow and too annoying for my taste. Naruto will be paired with Itsuko, but only much…much later. Right now, he focuses only in his training and nothing else. His mind is still not set in finding a romantic partner, even less a wife.

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Now that the reviews are answered, here is the chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 11 – Fateful encounter and Chunnin Exams**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

It has been two weeks since the team's mission to Snow Country and since then team 10 had yet to participate in a new one. The lack of missions, by itself, wasn't considered a peculiar occurrence as the Hokage usually granted small vacations after a long term mission or a lot of short term ones. A two week holiday, though, was strange. What was even stranger was that Naruto came across the information that the other teams faced the same situation. Because of the lack of assignments, Asuma's team focused their entire time training. They went through different chakra control exercises, taijutsu practices and teamwork assignments. Both Chouji and Ino practiced their family ninjutsu in order to improve their strength and decrease the time needed to use them. Naruto, for his turn, was busy performing elemental control as well as the ocular abilities of his doujutsu. It turned out that the genin focused more in only one aspect of the Sharingan, which was to anticipate the opponent's moves. Skills such as genjutsu casting just by looking and effectively copying ninjutsu weren't considered a priority.

Asuma wasted a great deal of time in convincing Naruto that copying jutsus from his comrades was forbidden.

Naruto admitted to not focusing much on copying other jutsus, since he believed in limiting his ninjutsu usage to fire and earth techniques. That left him with practicing his genjutsu skills. First, he tried casting illusions against his comrades, one by one. When that was possible, he attempted both at the same time. His last test was against a jounin of Asuma's caliber. The last one was proven to be almost impossible, but that was because Asuma was expecting it to happen. Said jounin confided that in the middle of a fight, Naruto would be able to use the illusion against a chunnin for five seconds and finish the fight before the opponent realizes what happened. Aside from team practices, Naruto and his kenjutsu partner were going at it full force every morning. The blond could feel more strength behind his partner's strikes, but he never dared to complain about it. If the blond were to face stronger enemies in the future, he needed to be stronger. He also used his spare time to summon some tora-nins in order to get to know them and even establish strategies alongside them.

Unfortunately, as far as elemental training was concerned, his chosen affinities aren't much suited for collaboration ninjutsus.

Naruto instead practiced physical strikes with the tigers, focusing on their agility. Because of the summoning tattoo, Naruto was able to create a nice attack sequence and summon the desired animal to finish the attack, surprising the enemy. As far as the lava element, Naruto wasn't even close to being able to create it. He practiced elemental manipulation constantly and improved the techniques efficiency, but as far as mixing the elements, he still didn't know how to do it. He knew it would be tough though, hence why he wasn't deterred by the momentary failure. By the end of today's training, Asuma had gathered his genins on the ground and started speaking.

"I want all three of you to know how proud I am of your improvement ever since graduation. The number of successful assignments is testament to that. And because of this, I've decided to place some more faith in you guys by nominating you three to the Chunnin Exams that will happen in Konoha three days from now." The genins immediately smiled at the vote of confidence, but Asuma wasn't finished. "Now, nomination alone is no guarantee for promotion. The exams are tough and in order to pass, you three must help each other at all times. I have confidence, though, that you three will put on quite a show and even if you don't receive the promotion, the exams will provide a great deal of experience."

After speaking, Asuma decided to leave them to their inner musings for a while.

No doubt, he knew that his team had the qualifications for chunnin. He knew Naruto to be skilled, perhaps even more than a regular chunnin He knew the boy so far showed very little of what he was capable of. Ino and Chouji have progressed nicely as well, learning their clan's abilities and increasing their overall skills like agility and chakra control. Asuma was confident that they would go through the exams without much trouble and learn a lot from it. Asuma gave the forms for the genins and dismissed them for the day. Ino and Chouji said their goodbyes promising to meet with Naruto at the academy, where the first part would take place. Both of them wanted to tell their parents about it, immediately. Naruto didn't understand, but thought nothing of it. The only ones he figured would like to know about it were Kakashi and Kasumi. As a sensei, Kakashi already knew that Asuma nominated him and Kasumi was away on a diplomatic mission for the Hyuuga Clan.

Left with little to do, Naruto remained at the training ground, practicing his taijutsu against the wooden posts.

After two hours of constantly beating the wooden posts, Naruto's hands were already feeling numb. He figured it was enough for the day and decided to head home. The boy stopped, however, when he felt a presence watching him from the shadow. Naruto activated his sharingan almost instantly and flinched upon seeing similar pair of red eyes shining in the darkness. His entire body shook at the sight of the man that was responsible for his current situation, Uchiha Itachi. The older Sharingan user did nothing but bind Naruto with a minor genjutsu. However, he was surprised when the blond released the illusion almost immediately. Itachi saw the three tomes on Naruto's eyes and smirked behind his black robe with red clouds. He came to Konoha in order to investigate how the blond was coming along and was surprised to see that Naruto had surpassed his expectations.

"From the look on your face, you know who I am." It wasn't a question, but Naruto felt inclined to respond.

"Uchiha Itachi…what are you doing here?" It was at least reasonable for Naruto to tremble at his presence, considering that as far as everyone was concerned, he was an S-ranked criminal who murdered his entire clan. Itachi recognized, though, that even in his presence, Naruto stood there, instead of fleeing cowardly. He was observing the blond the entire day and was interested in seeing the boy train until exhaustion. Certainly, he feared that Naruto would become arrogant like many from his family became upon awakening the Sharingan. However, there was another reason to Itachi being in Konoha, aside from observing the blond's improvement so far. If Naruto was to defend himself against the enemies, then Itachi needed to see if the blond was truly ready for them. Right now, he could tell that Naruto was the equivalent of a high level chunnin. While impressive, he was nowhere near the level he should be in order to protect himself.

"You could say that I'm here to test your skills. It has come to my knowledge that you received my little brother's Sharingan." He could see that Naruto was ready for an attack. "However, from what I can tell, against the likes of me, or at least those with similar strengths as my own, you have no chance. It's somewhat disappointing, if you ask me as I expected more." The blond was confused, but it was expected. "I'm here to tell you that there is an organization, my organization, that is after the beast that you contain." Naruto's eyes were widened in realization, but yet Itachi continued. "The members are just as strong, if not stronger, than me. And right now, I wouldn't need half my skills to take you."

"What are you talking about? Who is after the Kyuubi and why would you come here just to warn me?"

"As I said before, I'm here to test whether or not you're worthy of facing either me or one of them in battle. Right now, though, you are barely able to face a jounin in battle, let alone an S-ranked shinobi." Itachi activated his Mangenkyou Sharingan and forced a stronger illusion on Naruto, not allowing him to dispel it this time. "I just hope that when the times comes for us to really come after you, that you can put up more of a fight than this." Naruto saw the man vanishing within a mass of crows and returned breathing soon afterward. Looking around, he couldn't feel the man's presence anymore. Naruto could see how small he was compared to this man. And to believe that there were others stronger than Itachi and after him, was quite troubling. Naruto never thought himself to be weak, but Itachi was on an entirely different level. Naruto doubted if his sensei Asuma would be able to go against Itachi.

Suddenly, Naruto felt his body getting tired and in great need of rest.

As he went to his apartment, though, he wondered how it was possible to increase his strength more rapidly. Naruto was so tired that he didn't realize that Itachi was still observing him from afar. The older Uchiha knew the boy to be considerably skilled for his age, but Naruto didn't have the luxury of growing up at a steady pace. Since Itachi couldn't tutor him properly, he needed to at least motivate the boy into seeking improvement always, using fear and the need for survival. Naruto's trials haven't even start yet and Itachi feared that when the time came, the boy wouldn't be able to prepare in time. The older Uchiha hoped that the scroll he left at Naruto's house would suffice for the moment.

* * *

**===Naruto's house===**

Once Naruto went to bed, he saw a small scroll on top of it, presumably signed by his sensei Kakashi. According to the scroll, Kakashi congratulated him for the chunnin exams and gave him a little edge for the exams. Inside the scroll, were the specifics for a jutsu called _**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**_ (Shadow Clone Technique) and how it could be used as training**. **Naruto's eyes widened instantly as he considered the possibilities of training with this jutsu. The fact that it was considered a Kinjutsu, intrigued the blond a little bit, but he wasn't about to refuse the gift. He would use tomorrow and the next day in order to learn the jutsu and use it for training. Kami knew he had to take every opportunity before him in order to improve. Right now, though, he was only interested in sleeping.

* * *

**===With Kakashi===**

It was already night time when elite jounin Hatake Kakashi decided to leave his house and head to one of Konoha's many training grounds. Certainly, his movements appeared odd, but Kakashi knew not to arouse suspicion. He wasn't wearing his jounin vest for instance, which as far as appearances meant, it could simply mean that he was out to purchase some groceries or even order something for dinner. Kakashi knew his moves to be followed by the Anbu team that was currently patrolling the village at night. Eventually, though, the Anbu following him got fed up and changed course. Kakashi was counting on that, though, as he purposely walked in circles while reading his favorite book in order to show the man that he wasn't up to anything. What the man intended in doing couldn't be traced. It was a mission that the Hokage couldn't trust to just anyone. The elite jounin knew that he couldn't risk getting caught doing what he intended in doing right now. If there was any risk of being discovered, then the elite jounin had received specific orders to simply abandon the mission and resume later when the coast was clear. Now that he had lost his tail, Kakashi resumed his original path towards one of the most hidden training grounds.

It was close to the Forest of Death and simply no one would go there, not even during the day.

As soon as he arrived, the man closed the book and waited for five seconds, before openly saying that the weather was quite chilly tonight. Out of the blue, though, a voice appeared from his left agreeing with Kakashi. The elite jounin saw the same thing as Naruto did earlier.

"It has been a long time since your last report, Itachi. I was beginning to think you had been caught." Kakashi grabbed his book once more so as to hide his mask. He started walking in circles around the training ground as Itachi began speaking.

"Tricking nine S-ranked criminals is certainly no easy feat, Kakashi-sempai. I couldn't risk leaving the place every time I receive private information from the group. I've hidden the scroll at the same spot as usual." Kakashi nodded and was about to leave the training ground, knowing that he had less than two minutes for an Anbu to appear. However, Itachi figured it was high time to let Kakashi know of what happened earlier. "I met Naruto-kun a few hours ago, Kakashi-sempai. It pleases me in knowing that he hasn't become arrogant with the Sharingan." Kakashi stopped suddenly and looked at Itachi's direction. He couldn't ask any more questions from fear of overextending his stay without alerting suspicion. "I performed a small test on him and I have to say Kakashi, he is good, but nowhere near as good as he should be. I gave him the scroll for Kage Bunshin in your behalf. The organization is on the move and it won't take long before they start hunting the bijuus. Naruto needs to be ready for them."

"I'm sure of the merit behind your intentions, Itachi. But it was no doubt risky in exposing yourself to him, considering that he isn't aware of your position. Now, we must end this conversation." The hidden mole nodded and left just as swiftly as he appeared.

* * *

**===Chunnin Exams===**

When the date of the chunnin exams came, Naruto had awakened with a small headache from training so much with the Kage bunshins.

The technique wasn't that hard, since it only required a huge amount of chakra to perform. After mastering it, he summoned quite a few clones and asked them to do nothing but elemental manipulation and chakra control. Naruto had taken what Itachi said to heart and focused everything he had in training. With the clones busy with chakra conditioning, the original was left with physical training regarding both taijutsu and kenjutsu. He even summoned another clone to be his sparring partner, which worked wonders for him. The clone also had the Sharingan, so it turned out to be quite an eye opener for the boy. By doing this, he could see how _he _fights and the kinds of openings he leaves when fighting. Of course, Tora-sensei was always able to capitalize on them, but he preferred not to pinpoint Naruto's mistakes in front of him, leaving the blond to figure it out which was damn frustrating. When he released the clones, though, the boy passed out immediately, since he had yet to understand what would happen if he did that. After awakening, he understood what needed to be done and repeated the same training on the second day. According to the scroll, he had trained the equivalent of one month in only two days.

He needed to find Kakashi-sensei and thank him for the amazing gift.

After leaving his home, Naruto took less than ten minutes to arrive at the academy only to see a great number of genins from all over the place entering the building.

So far, his team had yet to arrive so he needed to wait. Given his situation, the blond genin figured it would be best to scout the opposition a bit. He could see ninjas from all of the great hidden villages as well as some minor villages like Takigakure, Amegakure and even a team whose insignia Naruto couldn't recognize which consisted of a musical note, it appeared. Obscuring his eyes from the opponents, he briefly activated his sharingan and observed the genins a bit. His eyes eventually landed on a genin from Suna, a redhead male wearing what appeared to be a gourd on his back. Out of all the genins in this place, his chakra capacity was by far the largest and, quite surprisingly, close to Naruto's. The blond narrowed his eyes upon feeling another chakra supply within the boy. He knew where this feeling came from. He learned what demonic chakra was because of sometimes trying to feel his own.

Naruto believed himself to be insane in actually wanting to talk to the beast inside of him.

Kakashi-sensei always advised against talking to the beast, but Naruto believed that in doing so, he could attempt to get access to its vile chakra. Perhaps, with a greater amount of chakra, his techniques' power would increase. Not only that, but eventually he could augment his own strength and speed if he was able to focus the chakra throughout his arms and legs. Of course, his ambition in using the Kyuubi's chakra wasn't shared by those he cherished and he in fact understood why. Both Kakashi and Kasumi were alive when the fox attacked the village and both of them remembered how helpless they were if it weren't for the Yondaime being able to defeat the fox. That being said, it would be his second pet project, next to being able to mix fire and earth techniques and using lava release. Naruto's wonderings were short lived when he saw Ino and Chouji approaching his position.

"Are you guys ready?" Naruto asked, earning confident nods from both his teammates. "Let's go then."

As soon as they entered the building, they found directions towards the Chunnin Exams' location as being held at room number 301. Quickly climbing the stairs, the team saw a commotion on the second floor and what appeared to be two ninjas blocking the room 301. Naruto was immediately on alert, before quickly activating his eyes for a brief moment. He sighed in dismay and ushered his teammates to follow him. Ino and Chouji were not aware of what Naruto saw, but they trusted him to do the right thing. As they walked, though, Ino couldn't help but voice her curiosity since room number 301 was downstairs. As they climbed to the third floor and saw another room with the same number, Naruto turned to Ino and explained.

"We were on the second floor, yet the number of the room downstairs was 301. That number was actually a small genjutsu. The real one was 201. It was probably done in order to test the genins."

Yamanaka Ino nodded at the explanation, but wondered if she wouldn't fall for such a trick as the others apparently did. Since the exams hadn't started yet, her attention was solely focused in walking towards the exam's location. After walking between hallways, Naruto and his team had finally reached the room where the chunnin exam was supposed to be held. However, all three genins were surprised that standing close to the door was none other than their sensei Sarutobi Asuma busy lighting up one of his cigarettes. Asuma was already aware of his team's presence as well as the fact that said genins were looking at him. After placing his lighter back inside his pocket, he inhaled, savoring the addictive aroma of nicotine, enjoying every second of the intoxicating smoke inside his lungs before exhaling it with a long relaxing sigh. He then smirked and turned to his genins.

"Asuma-sensei, what are you doing here?" Ino asked.

"Only to see whether or not all three of you would show up and it turns out you did. If for instance anyone chose not to participate, then the entire team wouldn't be able to." Something about that explanation didn't seem right to the genins. After all, if such a concern existed, then Asuma no doubt could have simply informed them when he mentioned the team's nomination to the exams. Asuma, though, was already expecting his genins to conclude this exact thing, so he answered the unasked question. "These exams are serious business, not some D or even C-ranked mission that we faced so far. A genin needs to be able to choose for him or herself it he or she is effectively ready to face the dangers. A team decision would hinder that personal decision." Naruto knew that the complete answer wasn't necessarily spoken as he saw that Asuma-sensei was looking directly at Ino when he explained his reasons.

Despite the growing number of kunoichi in the world, men couldn't help but underestimate the other sex and Ino didn't need to be that good in observation to catch on what her sensei was saying.

"I understand. That is also to say that without a full-fledged team, the genins cannot participate in the exam." Asuma smiled and nodded at the perceptive Sharingan user. He was beginning to realize that perhaps Kakashi had infused his quick wits into this boy somehow. Not to mention that Naruto's conclusion managed to dissuade Ino from stomping towards her sensei for calling her weak, just because she was a kunoichi. Eventually, the team and their sensei parted ways and the team entered inside the classroom, only to be shocked upon seeing the room packed with genins from all over the elemental nations. Surely, the number must be over three hundred genins. Naruto quickly spotted the genin from Sand and focused a bit of chakra through his eyes in order to memorize the boy's chakra in case they faced each other later on. Naruto wasn't sure if he could beat him, but at least he felt confident in holding his own against high level chunnin shinobi. Ino and Chouji, though, he wasn't sure.

The blond briefly wondered why some of the Iwa teams were looking at him with looks of hatred, but he shrugged it off just as the other teams from the academy arrived. Shikamaru immediately went into conversation with Chouji and Sakura with Ino and Yakumo. Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Hyuuga Hinata, team 8, arrived later on, but neither had much proximity to Naruto, so he was left with nothing to do until the exams had started. The Sharingan user wasn't in the least affected by being left out. The only people he could more than comrades and less than friends were his teammates and remotely Shikamaru when he and Chouji asked Naruto to have lunch with them.

Naruto heard a gray haired glass wearing genin suddenly addressing the genins to pipe the conversation down, explaining that the competition this exam is pretty fierce.

From what Naruto was able to gather, this man's name was Kabuto and he said that this was his seventh exam overall. That alone immediately set him on high alert. It didn't take much time observing this Kabuto to see that he wasn't as poorly skilled as he led everyone to believe. His chakra levels weren't to laugh at and his posture indicated how, despite acting nonchalantly in front of the genins, Kabuto was actually very much aware of his surroundings. The blond couldn't figure out what the guy was hiding, so he just created a mental note to watch out for him in case he shows up in the middle of the exams. Naruto wasn't even surprised when three genins carrying that same weird insignia he saw before, attacked Kabuto from behind. He caught the subtleness of Kabuto's actions. Whatever technique the other genin used on Kabuto, the older genin didn't even feel it. The glass breaking was a nice touch, though.

"Do not underestimate the genins from Otogakure."

The genin who attacked Kabuto earlier threatened, who appeared to suffer from a chronic osteoporosis because of his posture. No sooner had he said that, smoke erupted at the front of the classroom before a great number of ninja from Konoha appeared. The all looked pretty much the same wearing gray uniforms. The only exception was the man in front of them who simply added a black trench coat on top of his gray uniform and a black bandanna.

"Okay everyone be seated and let's start the Chunnin Exams." The man waited before everyone chose their seats, before continuing. "In front of you, is the first part of the exam composed of a written test." Ibiki ignored the few murmurs of people complaining and continued. "You will have an hour and a half to complete all the nine answers. These shinobi seated around you will pick up any attempt at cheating and each time you're caught, you'll lose two points. After a total of ten points for cheating, you and your team is automatically disqualified, no matter if only one of your team is caught. You may begin the test at once. You all have one hour and a half. Make the time count." After Ibiki finished explaining, the entire room was filled with paper turning noises, before the genins started reading the questions. Fifteen minutes later, pretty much all the genins in the classroom realized the difficulty of more than half the questions. Naruto, in particular, did and was only able to answer four questions out of the nine in the test. Even those he didn't believe it was completely right. Naruto began to pounder on the test's difficulty.

'_Knowledge is an important skill for a chunnin to possess, but it can't be a necessity in the field. Knowledge alone is one thing, but acquiring knowledge, through other means, is another. Perhaps this test didn't involve testing how much a genin knows, but rather how he could acquire the information without getting caught. That proctor did explain that one loses two points every time he or she is caught cheating. If cheating was prohibited, one strike would be enough to be disqualified.' _After figuring it out, the blond began scanning the room to see how the others were doing. He could see Neji and Hinata's Byakugan active while looking around, meaning that they were using the doujutsu to get the answers. Shino was looking at a small bug on his finger and Kiba was presumably talking to his dog about something. Both were perhaps using their animals to aid them. Naruto would be damned if he didn't use his own, even if it can't be really be considered as such, doujutsu. He quickly spotted one genin who seemed to be writing the answers and looked at him with the Sharingan active. His hand immediately began to move accordingly as he completed the missing answers. Naruto was about to finish the test when suddenly he felt Ino's technique taking over his body. He expected nothing less of the girl, who must have seen what he did and took the opportunity to memorize the answers. Fifteen minutes later, the boy was back in control of his body and saw Ino from the corner of his eye, now focusing on taking over Chouji's body probably filling out the answers for him.

Throughout the test, Naruto could see many genins leaving the room after being caught for the fifth time cheating. The room at the end was quite empty compared to the beginning of the exam.

When the time was over, Ibiki, the proctor, told everyone to drop their pencils as it was now time for the tenth and final question of the exam.

"Before the final question is given, you all must choose between answering it or quit before. Those who decide to stay must be prepared to get the question right, otherwise you risk losing the chance to do this exams again for the rest of your careers." As soon as he finished talking, he smirked at the terrified looks shown by the majority of the chunnin applicants. Some even complained about the unfairness of said treatment, but Ibiki merely shrugged it off. "I guess you guys are unlucky, then, because I happen to be the proctor this year. In here, everything I say goes. That being said, I repeat. If you want to quit and take the exams another time, you're more than welcome. Should you decide to stay and get the question wrong, then you'll remain a genin for life." The proctor remained his stoic visage as many genins chose the cowardly way out, leaving the room with their teams. The precious few that remained weren't that sure to begin with, Ino in particular. She was half expecting that either Chouji or Naruto got up so that she could attempt the next time, but neither even bothered moving from their chairs. Chouji had his trust in Naruto and the blond just happened to activate his doujutsu briefly to watch Ibiki and realized the man's intentions. He heard about this man from Kakashi, that he runs the Anbu interrogation and torture department and enjoys using psychological warfare on his opponents.

Five minutes later, the proctor saw that those who wanted to leave had left already, leaving only those who decided to risk it.

"This is your last chance to leave without risking your career." When it was clear that no one would leave, Ibiki smirked. "Well for those who decided to stay…you passed." Like stated before, even those who decided to stay weren't very sure of their actions. Ibiki, then, decided to explain his reasons. "A chunnin will sometimes face missions with minimal possibility of survival, not to mention even smaller chances of success. However, he or she can't simply back down from the mission at the first sign of danger. A chunnin must face the situation no matter what the odds are. Those who stayed have proven to be capable in this regard. Now…" Ibiki didn't have much time to explain the rest of the exam when the room window exploded, before a woman entered and extended a sign meant for her introduction. (AN: All of you know what happens, so I won't bother). Mitarashi Anko appeared with an arrogant smile on her face as she counted the number of genins that escaped from Ibiki's little game.

"You're early once again, Anko." The woman sighed sheepishly, before turning to said man.

"Fifty genins, Ibiki? You must be getting soft. No matter, after I'm done with them, the number will at least be cut in half." She even cleared her throat for more emphasis on her next set of words. "ALRIGHT YOU MAGGOTS, BREAK IS OVER, FOLLOW ME TO TRAINING GROUND 44 FOR THE SECOND PART OF THE EXAMS!" Needless to say everyone complied immediately, from fear of the crazy lady. The fact that Anko was playing with a few kunai with her hand, increased the threat level. Ino, though, couldn't help but think little of the woman's choice in clothes, in other words, calling her a slut. The guys, though, were thinking differently.

* * *

**===Forest of Death===**

It took twenty minutes to assemble everyone in front of the forest, before Anko began explaining what the genins have to do now. The special jounin took a minute for the genins to study the heavy forest in front of them, before explaining everything.

"Alright! This, before you, is called training ground number 44 or as we'd like to call it 'The Forest of Death'. A place filled with the most vicious creatures just waiting to devour anyone who believes themselves as tough little bastards. The second phase will consist of a survival mission within these pleasurable woods. Your mission will be to reach a white tower that is located in the middle of the forest. The thing is…in order to receive clearance inside the tower, the team must be in possession of the scrolls I'm holding in my hand, a heaven and earth scroll. Each team will start with one of them and must hunt other teams in order to get the other scroll and reach the tower. You will all have five days to get the other scroll and reach the tower. Remember, though, inside everything goes and when I say everything, I mean specifically killing." Anko finished explaining before seeing the terrified looks on some of the genins. Of course, every exam one genin decides to act like the hero.

"Huh, you doesn't scare me lady, we're going to ace this exam." Kiba said pointing his thumb at himself, never even seeing the sudden kunai that flew towards his face. He had only felt the slight wound on his cheek, before the proctor woman appeared behind him.

"You know, it's tough brats like you that are the first to be killed. This forest is no joke, lots of genin like you thought the same thing and are now dead." Kiba was indeed terrified as the woman intended, before turning to the audience once more. "Each team will grab a scroll and then proceed to one of the gates located around the forest. When you hear the bell, the exam starts and the gates will open. MOVE IT!" The genins complied with the crazy lady once more, before grabbing a scroll and going for the gates. Naruto's team had gotten into position in front of their designated gate already knowing the team that they should avoid, besides obviously the ones from Konoha. Right now, perhaps the team from Suna was the most dangerous one. The other two weren't that much, but the red head genin certainly was. He was a jinchuuriki after all and as such he should be avoided at all costs throughout the exams. Naruto knew for sure that at least one team from Iwagakure would search them out, after seeing how all of the Iwa genins looked at him specially during the first part of the exams. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out what he could possibly have done to infuriate Iwagakure, or anyone from there for that that manner.

He had yet to face one Iwa-nin in battle.

Quickly looking at his team, he smirked once seeing how confident his team was.

As soon as the alarm started, the gates were opened and so it started the second phase of the chunnin exams.

Naruto's team entered the forest with great speed as time was of the essence, not only because of the actual time table, but also because Chouji wasn't very thrilled to be in a forest without food for five days, much to Ino's ire and Naruto's amusement. He indeed expected his teammate to be like this. Chouji's hunger ended up affecting the team dynamics and that was something Naruto could not ignore, hence why he packed more ration bars in order to keep tabs with Chouji's appetite at least until they could reach the tower and have a proper meal. Of course, the Akimichi wasn't too thrilled about eating nothing more than ration bars for five days straight, but he figured it was better than searching throughout the forest for food while being hunted by vicious creatures and other genins as well, in search for their heaven scroll.

After fifteen minutes of travelling, Naruto ushered his teammates to follow him inside a cave, where they could gather without being interrupted.

"Ok, we need a plan here. Mostly, we should avoid that team from Suna, but other than them, we can go against any other team. I believe we can come up with two plans for two situations, offensive and defensive." Naruto started, earning nods from his teammates. "For defensive purposes, I believe I'm most suited to act as support for you two. I can detect the incoming threat and act accordingly. As offensive, I believe that Chouji can start, immobilizing the enemies while you Ino captures one of them with your mind technique. I'll protect your body. I can deal with the rest. Any thoughts?" Ino and Chouji were deep in thought as they at first found it hard for the strategy to work against three opponents at the same time.

"Naruto, we can only bind one enemy at a time, I can't use my mind techniques against two or even three for that manner." Ino said, earning a nod from the blond leader.

"I'm well aware of that, Ino. Capturing one of the opponents will be efficient in order to ruin whatever strategy the enemy is planning, forcing them to change in the middle of the fight. I'm actually counting on the Sharingan to stop their movements before they even consider the next moves with either some well thrown projectiles or even mid to long range ninjutsu. Genjutsu is also a good possibility to use against them, so Chouji can use his partial expansion jutsu and grab two if not three of them and then I can cast an illusion on them all. Either way, I believe it's our best alternative. Since we agreed not to attack any teams from Konoha, it's safe to assume that the enemy won't know about our skills."

After a while, both Ino and Chouji nodded. The Akimichi figured it would be a nice training of his clan abilities. He still had yet to grab Naruto with his jutsu, but others may not be as fast.

"Ok, let's proceed. If we find a team with the earth scroll today, we can proceed to the tower quickly and Chouji may have a nice meal tonight."

At the thought, the Akimichi started drooling with saliva and showed an even more confident smirk on his face.

While travelling, Naruto made good use of his doujutsu in order to spot the faint traces of chakra left by the other teams. His team wasn't meant for tracking, which was considered their only disadvantage compared to other teams like Team 8, which consisted of Kiba, Shino and Hinata. All three of them possessed tracking abilities and could find teams just as easily as escaping from them. It was Naruto's instincts, though, that allowed him to dodge an incoming rain of kunai, before shouting at his teammates to scatter and hide behind the trees. Ino and Chouji responded immediately and Naruto chose a tree closely behind the ones chosen by his teammates. If the enemy decided to attack them first, he would be able to stop it. Quickly summoning two shadow clones, Naruto grabbed his kodashi and blocked what appeared to be a ninjato strike coming from behind. The clones were already dispatched to protect Ino and Chouji.

Naruto saw the Iwa insignia on the girl in front of him. She was slightly taller than him and was quite pretty, even when angered as she appeared to be right now. Despite that, Naruto realized that her strike lacked strength, which allowed him to get the upper hand against her. If she couldn't even land a strike with his back turned, then it was almost impossible for her to get lucky now. Naruto, even without the Sharingan, had both strength and agility in his favor. The kunoichi was on the ground holding her bleeding arm in less than four minutes. Standing in front of her, Naruto could very well see the look of fear on the kunoichis face. It seemed as if he would now kill her without he even showing any killing intent. Something about his appearance must have triggered said fear in her. Ino and Chouji appeared beside him.

"What about the other two?" Naruto asked while staring at the beaten girl in front of him.

"One of them tried attacking Chouji with doton, but your clone managed to stop him before Chouji used his jutsu to beat him until he was unconscious. By the way, it's the first time we've seen clones do that. The other one was also a kunoichi, but Chouji captured her and I used my mind technique to knock her out. Neither of the two had the scroll, but from what I gathered from her mind, this team possess the scroll we need." Naruto smiled and activated his sharingan, before looking at the frightened girl in front of them. Ino and Chouji saw her frightened look for a while before her eyes closed in what appeared to be sleeping. Naruto asked Ino to check her body for the scroll, before finding the scroll they needed. With their mission complete, it was time to finish this assignment as quickly as possible.

Needless to say, Chouji was already imagining the types of food he would get at the tower.

* * *

**===Inside the Tower===**

It took the team a total of an hour to get to the tower. Throughout the trip, as Anko warned beforehand, team 10 had to deal with a great number of creatures, going from giant tigers to spiders. One even almost decapitated Ino, but both Naruto and Chouji saved her. The Akimichi went for her and Naruto attacked the spider with a well-thrown fireball. Because she was so close to Ino, the beast's scream of pain was too much for the girl to bear. Upon arrival at the tower, Ino was still shaking, but was already calming down by staying close to Chouji. After entering the tower, Naruto opened both scrolls and tossed them together on the ground, before Asuma appeared before them.

"Well, I was sure you guys would finish quick, but I didn't expect it so soon." Asuma saw that Ino was shaking and wondered what happened to the girl.

"We got lucky that the first team to attack us actually had the scroll we needed. After dealing with them, we came straight here." Naruto explained, earning a nod followed by a prideful smile.

His team was the first to arrive after all.

"Congratulations all three of you, now why is Ino-chan shaking? Did something happen?" Asuma asked as he approached the little girl, before receiving the answer from Chouji.

"On the way here, we had encountered a group of big spiders. Naruto and I managed to deal with our fair share, but one went after Ino-chan. We managed to save her. She is terrified of them." Asuma nodded in sympathy. While it wasn't common for shinobi to fear animals, Asuma admitted that seeing bugs of that size for the first time could be quite intimidating. Outside of the forest, the biggest spider barely surpassed a man's hand, but the ones found inside the forest surpassed a human's entire body, and quite possibly, an entire house. Unfortunately, Ino would have to deal with this alone as this certainly won't be the last time she encountered said creature. He did meet a couple of ninjas that was never able to overcome the fear of spiders.

"Well, you guys have the rest of the exams to rest and do whatever. Come with me…I will show you where you can rest, take a shower, and in Chouji's case, eat."

His team nodded and followed the bearded jounin as he gave a quick tour of the facilities.

* * *

**Author Note**

And that's it for now.

I, at first, wanted to finish the preliminaries as well, but it would get too long. Next chapter, I'll cover the preliminaries and Naruto's training for the final part.

So, Itachi had finally introduced himself to Naruto and delivered the bomb. According to him, Naruto isn't nearly as powerful as he should have been by now. Thus, he gave Naruto the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, instructing him about the technique and how It can be used to augment his training. Obviously, though, Itachi was assessing the boy without taking the Kyuubi into consideration. Once Naruto learns how to use it, which by the way will happen upon his one month training to the exams, he'll certainly be much stronger. Furthermore, if someone questions why Orochimaru wasn't in the exams to get Naruto, was because he doesn't know that Naruto has the sharingan.

Not to mention the fact that he wouldn't be able to take the boy's body because of the Kyuubi.

See you all next chapter.


	12. Preliminaries and training

**Author Note**

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes.

Last chapter, we concluded the first half of the chunnin exam's second part. Naruto, Chouji and Ino faced a lot of dangers both human and nature. Moving on, it's now time for the preliminaries which will settle the second part of the chunnin exams as well as decide the outcome of the third and final part. As most of you have already figured it out, I enjoy writing training chapters, because it gives credit to the skills showed in the middle of a fight. I don't know about you, but I always questioned how Naruto came up with the techniques he uses nowadays. Kishimoto doesn't bother much about this, often preferring to simply show Naruto using all these new never seen before rasengan techniques, as if our hero came up with them out of the blue. That being said, this chapter will consist of two parts. First part will be Naruto's fight in the preliminaries followed by his training.

Before the chapter begins, let's see some of the reviews.

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**Raidentensho** – It's still unclear to me if he'll receive the Mangenkyou or not. The last evolution of the sharingan turned out to be too god-like to me. For instance, Itachi managed to defeat Nagato. Kishi clearly favors the Sharingan over the Rinnegan, even if the story he created showed the Rinnegan as the final part of the mangenkyou sharingan. If I decide to give him the mangenkyou, it won't be obtained like Itachi did, but like Kakashi and Madara. Those who remember, Madara managed to acquire his mangenkyou sharingan through extensive training together with his brother Izuna. However, it's still unclear if an Uchiha needs to face extreme situations to awake the extreme doujutsu through training. Kakashi said he acquired it through training, but what he did wasn't explained. I am more inclined to believe that the mangenkyou can also be obtained by training, but the Uchiha must go through dangerous situations to awake the eye.

**PenguinX – **I felt that Team 10 had it easy in the forest of death, so I added one small obstacle to give more reality to it. That was all.

**Mind-slaver** – Wow, Naruto having the byakugan, would be cool indeed. I wonder if someone knows a good story about this. If anyone does, please send it to me. As I explained before, I also have doubts about giving Naruto the Mangenkyou. Sure, it gives him the three god like techniques like Ametarasu, but my goal isn't that. I wish for him to use lava style in the near future, not kill everyone with the black flames. I liked all your ideas of him going to Kiri and then Iron Country. I'll certainly think about it. Because of the kage bunshin, his elemental training will certainly increase up to the point of reaching full mastery over fire and earth. Yamato explained, in canon, that he managed to use mokuton, because both his water and earth manipulation were equally one hundred percent mastered (water in one hand and earth in another, forming the snake hand sign).

**Zorobak** – The pairing will only begin after Naruto is promoted to chunnin and starts receiving tougher assignments. He'll meet more and more with Itsuko until one decides to simply meet face to face.

**Reishin Amara** – No, she is not Karin. Her fear was due to Naruto's uncanny resemblance to Minato.

**OregonDucks** – Because of his spiky hair, Naruto can either have Minato's, Kakashi's or Jiraiya's type of hair. Regarding the armor, I have another idea in mind for that.

**Bowtechsniper** – Sorry, I don't intend on giving him his mother's abilities. I know it would be cool, but he already has too many abilities to train. Give him more would be god like.

**Toby860 – **What was announced was that Naruto received Sasuke's eyes. The news of him activating the sharingan is a different manner.

Ok that's if for the moment. Now, let's begin.

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**Chapter 12 – Preliminaries and training**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

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When the exams ended, those who passed were all lined up in front of the Sandaime Hokage inside a dojo located at the tower.

All the rookie teams from Konoha passed plus two older teams from Konoha, a team from Sound and one from Sunagakure. Since Naruto's team arrived faster than the others, the three of them had enough time to both rest in Ino's case, eat in Chouji's case and train in Naruto's case. Ino's experience with the arachnids ended up giving her a phobia that she hoped to cure when she met her father after the exams. The Yamanaka Clan members were masters at healing phobias, simply because it consisted of irrational fears created by the affected person's mind. Whenever she remembered the episode, her body started trembling unconsciously as if the creature was still in her mind just waiting for her guard to be dropped.

The female member of the team hoped that said fear wouldn't ruin her chances in the exams.

Naruto, for his part, managed to find another spacious room inside the tower, hence he used it for training with his clones. Aside from strict elemental manipulation, Naruto used his mind to create some new uses for the elements. Usually, fire was meant for offensive and earth was for defensive purposes. Of course, he had a couple of offensive earth techniques, in case the enemy's strong against fire. He was considering a new doton defensive technique that aided him in taijutsu. His sharingan allowed him to anticipate movements, but he needed a safety net in case he met an enemy faster than his eyes can predict. He heard of shinobi in Iwa creating earth type body armors and he wanted to replicate it. A known weakness of this technique was that it hindered the shinobi's agility because of the extra weight. If he managed to use the technique on only his arms, he could use the extra protection and not ruin his speed.

_Doton Ishi Yoroi_ (Earth Release: Stone Armor Technique was the name.

He selected a group of bunshin for this assignment while he selected another for fire manipulation. The original one would focus in using both taijutsu and kenjutsu against imaginary opponents. Itachi's appearance taught Naruto an important lesson. He didn't need to fight the elder Uchiha to see just how he paled in comparison to the S-ranked criminal. Also if what Itachi said was true, Naruto would not only have to defeat him but also shinobi much stronger than him. Naruto knew that he had an edge that was imprisoned inside of him. The fox's energy will surely give him the energy needed against his enemies, but Naruto knew he would pay dearly. The stone armor technique wasn't so hard to learn and the clones were doing it repeatedly in order to attest the necessary chakra and the time needed to activate it. The boy needed more, though. He needed to be faster and stronger than his current level. For that to work, he would need to train constantly and always seek improvement, no matter the obstacles.

He would win the preliminaries and come to his sensei for training, perhaps ask Tora-sensei for a more _effective _pace. He stopped his thinking when the Hokage began to speak.

"For those who managed to pass the forest of death, you've earned my congratulations. These exams are tough for one reason and one reason only; to replicate a stage of war." A few of the genin were startled by this, but the man continued. "The Chunnin Exams were first created when the five hidden villages signed the pact of neutrality between one another. Before, one became a chunnin through their record in the field. Now, in one month's time, those who pass the second phase will participate in a tournament." Hiruzen was about to speak more, but a jounin shunshined in front of him, ushering the Hokage in allowing him to speak. The jounin coughed a few times and then turned to the genin.

"Before the tournament, though, we must address another situation. The number of qualified shinobi in this exam is quite rare; therefore we'll have to reduce it through preliminary battles against each other." The genin were startled by this as many had yet to get some rest. "Unfortunately, for those who arrived almost at the end of the exam, we simply cannot have a large number of fights in the third phase. It would take too long. Now, the board behind me will determine the fights one by one. Before we proceed, though, is there someone here who wishes to withdraw from the fights?" Immediately after hearing this, Kabuto raised his hand.

"I wish to forfeit. I wasted a lot of chakra and just cannot proceed." The jounin simply nodded and scratched his name off the board.

"Yakushi Kabuto of the Leaf; okay you can go." As Kabuto turned his back, a gigantic black board appeared behind the jounin, before the images of the genin appeared. The board started jumbling the names for a while, before the first two names appeared. "First fight of the preliminaries will begin; Uzumaki Naruto from Konoha against Kurama Yakumo also from Konoha. The rest must wait for your turn up the stairs by your right." Kakashi signed in dismay seeing as his genin ended up facing Naruto of all the opponents. Dojutsu wielders were Yakumo's worst enemy. He was already dismissing her as possible candidate for chunnin. Naruto not only had the sharingan but also had extensive training in genjutsu, same field as his student.

In no time, only Naruto, Yakumo and the jounin Hayate remained at the dojo's center.

The Hokage looked at the blond's back for a while, as the secret of Naruto's sharingan was to be revealed to the world. He actually thought it would have been sooner considering that Naruto had told his team about it. However, it turned out that both Ino and Chouji kept their mouths shut about it. The news of a shinobi alive with the dojutsu served to increase the village's income and despite not agreeing with it, Konoha wouldn't survive without clients. Once Naruto used it for the first time in front of everyone, news would certainly spread instantly. Unfortunately, it was for the village. Sarutobi didn't know, though, that Naruto wouldn't be against it as it attracted more of the enemy's attention to him.

At the fight, Hayate eyed both opponents for a moment, before authorizing the battle.

Yakumo went on the offense immediately doing a couple of hand seals while charging at Naruto. Naruto could see her movements without his eyes and was only waiting for her to get closer. He felt his chakra being invaded and smirked at the girl's choice of attack. The genjutsu altered his perception of the reality, allowing Yakumo to confuse her opponent. Quickly activating the sharingan, the blond broke the genjutsu in less than a second and blocked the taijutsu strike. Everyone, besides those who knew, were shocked at seeing the sharingan in Naruto's eyes. The girl was immediately surprised at how fast Naruto broke her illusion. She didn't know much about him, because he never interacted much at school. She knew he received Sasuke's eyes after the Uchiha massacre, but she didn't think much about that at the time. The news of the sharingan was quite troubling. Quickly grabbing a hidden tanto, she placed her left foot forward trying to stab him. Naruto was faster and used a lone kunai to defend. He had the strength in his favor and managed to push her aside.

Yakumo wasn't interested in maintaining the hold, so she backed away and began a series of hand seals for ninjutsu instead.

_Suiton Mizurappa (Water Release: Violent Water Wave Technique)_

Naruto focused some chakra to his feet as the torrent of water came his way. He evaded it but Yakumo pressed further using the technique once more. Naruto couldn't dodge the technique in mid-air and taking it head on just wasn't smart, considering he was weak against suiton techniques. Quickly summoning a kage bunshin, the clone took him away from the path, before going through hand seals in mid-air. She was a water user, so she was weak against…

_Doton Doryuu Dangan (Earth Release: Mud Shot Technique)_

Yakumo's agility wasn't as great as Naruto's that she could evade successful shots of mud bullets. Thus all of them reached their designated target. Two hit her chest, other two hit her arms and the last one went straight at her forehead protector. The technique hurt like a bitch as Yakumo was weak against earth techniques. Not to mention the fact that one of the mud projectiles hit her in the forehead. If it wasn't for the mental plate protecting her, she would be unconscious right away. Instead, the woman became extremely dizzy with no sense of awareness whatsoever. She didn't even register when Naruto appeared in front of her holding his sword inches from her jugular and the proctor giving the fight in Naruto's favor. Kakashi and Shikamaru had thought of a different outcome and both were surprised it lasted this long. Kakashi knew Naruto to be way stronger than this and he also knew that he could have ended the battle when Yakumo was close to him.

Perhaps Naruto wasn't all that interested in showing off. Either way, the result was good enough as he passed to the third part of the exams.

* * *

_(AN: Like I said, I won't bother with the other fights, so I will briefly describe them. For the record, aside from Naruto's fight, the rest is exactly like in canon with a few twists.)_

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Yakumo was still dizzy while Kakashi escorted her towards the stairs. Hayate meanwhile was waiting for the board to turn on again and decide the next fight. Shikamaru was next against Tsuchi Kin from Sound. The fight turned out to be very funny as Shikamaru captured her shadow and bended his body backwards. Because he was controlling Kin's body, the woman did the same thing and slammed her head at the wall behind her, sending her to unconsciousness. Yakumo had already recovered her bearings and couldn't help but twitch at the way her teammate won the fight. Shikamaru's brilliance was only matched by his own laziness. Thus it shouldn't surprise her that he finished the fight in the quickest way possible. Sakura just cheered for him while Kakashi was busy reading his book. Next, was Aburame Shino from the Leaf against Zaku from Sound. The fight started in Zaku's favor as he used concentrated blasts of wind and got rid of the majority of Shino's bugs. Zaku was becoming arrogant in the field, thus he was unaware that Shino had sent some of the bugs crawling Zaku's leg and closed the sound-nin's air vents located in his hands.

Zaku was surprised as hell when he attempted to use his technique once more only for the air to be blocked and return to his body. His organs ended up taking quite the blow as he screamed in pain and agony.

The next round was between Ino and Sakura. Sakura, at first, believed herself to be on equal grounds with Ino. The two of them became rivals for Sasuke's affection back at the academy. After the Uchiha Massacre, their rivalry diminished, but it was transferred to mere ninja abilities. It turned out that the Yamanaka heir had more to show for herself than Sakura. Sakura at first attempted to fool Ino by attacking with the bunshin illusion technique and land a taijutsu punch on Ino. She was surprised as hell when Ino decided to evade all three Sakuras and then rotate her body and land a fierce kick on Sakura's side stomach. Ino has been training a lot with Naruto and Chouji and thus became much stronger and faster in her taijutsu. Sakura was on the ground in pain when the Yamanaka heir suddenly trapped her on the floor and placed a kunai inches from Sakura's face. Sakura was shocked at seeing the look on Ino's face. Hayate gave her the win, before Ino's face changed to a full and smug smirk at Sakura.

Next up was Akimichi Chouji against Dosu from Sound.

Chouji started the fight by throwing a couple of shuriken at Dosu, before going through hand seals earning a smile from Naruto and Asuma. Dosu widened his eyes when the projectiles were multiplied from five to fifty shuriken. Naruto was the one who taught the Shuriken Kage Bunshin to Chouji as he believed his comrade needed more techniques than the usual clan techniques. Dosu used his special bracelet and emitted a strong sound wave in an attempt to stop the shuriken's trajectory. He was partially successful as a couple reached their target. Dosu flinched in pain, but Chouji was already closing on his position, with both arms larger than normal. Shikamaru smiled the entire time as he saw how much stronger his friend became upon training with Naruto. Dosu tried his melody arm once more but Chouji elongated one of his arms in time and hit the man in the head. The noise of his fists reaching Dosu's face made everyone flinch as they saw the man fly away with his eyes swirling like crazy. The sound-nin was already unconscious when his body reached the far wall.

Next fight was Tenten from the Leaf against Temari from the Sand.

Tenten was considered a prodigy in using weapons, but her opponent couldn't have been worse. Temari's fan didn't need to work much as she blew Tenten's projectiles away easily. Afterwards, Temari had swung her fan with all its might, trapping Tenten inside a hurricane. The woman's screams were buffered by the noise of the hurricane. Temari even had the audacity of easing Tenten's fall with her fan right at Tenten's back. She was already unconscious by then. Kankurou from the Sand was next against Misumi from the Leaf. The strange shinobi's abilities allowed him to pop his bones out of their sockets and use his chakra to manipulate his soft muscle tissue. His victory was at first granted when he trapped Kankurou using his loosen arms. Suddenly, though, another Kankurou emerged from the wraps on the ground, before everyone looked at who was trapped by Misumi's technique. Everyone was surprised to see a puppet. The wooden machine used its extra limbs and squeezed Misumi until he was unconscious, giving the fight to Kankurou.

Next fight was between Inuzuka Kiba and Akadou Yoroi, brom from the Leaf.

The hyperactive shinobi was thrilled to finally go next as he and his dog partner pretty much jumped at the arena instead of simply walking down the stairs. When the match started, it was clear to Yoroi that fighting more than one enemy at a time just wasn't his forte. His technique involve sucking chakra from the enemy and converting into his own. He worked his ass off to struggle with Kakashi's fast taijutsu, but in the end managed to suck the boy's chakra. However, he wasn't counting on the dog coming from behind and landing a fierce bite on his arm, letting Kiba loose. Taking the opportunity, Kiba used his claws and ripped Yoroi's chest drawing a lot of blood. Akamaru was the one who finished the fight using the clan's famous taijutsu called _Tsuuga_. (Piercing Fang).

The two final matches were Rock Lee against Sabaku no Gaara and Hyuuga Neji versus Hyuuga Hinata.

Both of them were very intense with Gaara winning against Rock Lee at the very end, crushing the bones of his arms and legs. The boy's sensei was the one that carried Lee personally to the infirmary as he looked at the vicious Gaara. Neji also treated his cousin Hinata the same way, almost destroying her heart literally, if he wasn't stopped by the jounin in the room. Once the battles were over, those who won, stood in front of the Hokage. The proctor from the second round Anko announced that they would now grab a number from a black box she was holding. After that was done with, the genins announced their numbers one by one. Quickly sorting the nine genin and the amount of fights, the proctors arranged the matches of the third phase.

"Okay, seeing as there is an uneven number of fighters, the winner of the last fight will progress immediately to the final fight whereas the rest must face two more opponents before reaching the final. First fight will be between Uzumaki Naruto against Hyuuga Neji." To this everyone couldn't help but whistle. Since the Uchiha Clan's demise, there hadn't been a battle between dojutsus. Neji was looking at his opponent and smirked. The sharingan in Naruto set him apart of those considered by Neji as regular. No doubt, it will be an interesting fight. Anko continued announcing the fights. "The second fight is between Nara Shikamaru and Sabaku no Temari." A loud sigh was heard as everyone turned to Shikamaru. He wasn't looking forward to fighting such a troublesome kunoichi. "The third fight is between Akimichi Chouji and Inuzuka Kiba. The fourth match and last of the regular chart is between Sabaku no Gaara and Sabaku no Kankurou. The fifth fight is between Yamanaka Ino and Aburame Shino. As I said before, the winner of the last fight will advance to the final fight and will wait for his opponent to be decided."

Seeing as her job here was done, Anko turned to the Hokage and nodded.

"Now that that you know your opponents, you'll have an entire month to train and quite possibly incorporate different skills than those showed in the preliminaries. Everyone is dismissed." After the Hokage left with his Anbu guard, the genin returned to their respective jounin sensei in order to check their schedule for training. Asuma was smiling from ear to ear since he had won his bet against the other jounin sensei. All three of his genin managed to qualify for the final round whereas Kakashi and Kurenai only had one genin each. Gai thought that betting was an unyouthful habit and thus chose not to participate. Even if he did, it didn't matter as Gai also had only one genin in the finals. As his three genin appeared in front of him, Asuma had to restrain himself from giving a big hi-fi. So, instead, he lit a cigarette and smiled as the smoke calmed his urges.

"Congratulations all three of you for qualifying. Now, though, I believe we are in a big dilemma." Ino and Chouji looked at the man wondering what was it, but Naruto already knew.

"All three of us passed and we have only one sensei. Plus considering that we'll be facing each other, we need to train separately from one another."Asuma only nodded, but Naruto continued. "Not to diminish your capabilities, Ino, but your abilities are considered supplementary, thus better applied in a team battle. It is better that Asuma-sensei focus this month solely for you. I bet that Chouji will train with his clan and seeing from his face, I bet he wouldn't mind." The Akimichi genin nodded immediately with a big smile on his face. Ino, though, frowned for a while not particularly enjoying Naruto's remark about her being the team's weakest link. Asuma, though, smiled at this and placed a comfortable hand on her shoulder.

"I concur with Naruto, Ino. The Yamanaka Clan members were always the supportive type. I believe it's high time we increase those advanced taijutsu lessons as well as possibly a few offensive jutsu." Ino sighed, but nodded. "I guess I can talk to daddy and see if he has another technique to aid me as well." Asuma nodded while blowing smoke. He then turned to Naruto, since so far the blond haven't come up with a suitable plan for his training.

"What about you Naruto? Do you have anything planned for training?" Asuma asked and Naruto was about to answer, before a familiar voice appeared behind them.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance, Asuma." Kakashi was there with hands inside his pockets. "I initially offered it to Shikamaru, but he is much like his father in that regard." Asuma had to smile at that. He remembered how lazy Shikamaru's father was. Despite the man being a genius tactician, he was lazy as hell. Asuma didn't mind Kakashi teaching Naruto for the month. Kakashi looked at his surrogate brother figure. "So, Naruto, if you want, I could oversee your training for this month. I bet that Kasumi misses you a lot. She will arrive in two days from her mission." Seeing a genuine smile on the usually stoic Naruto was almost rare these days. In fact, his team had only seen it once when they went out to eat together. When Naruto smiled to the scarecrow jounin, both Ino and Chouji knew that Kakashi was close to him; perhaps closer than a mere friendship, maybe bordering on family. Naruto, for his part, figured he could ask Kasumi some pointers on Neji and the byakugan.

With the training settled, Asuma said to Chouji that he would visit the Akimichi once a week to see how he was doing.

They all left the forest together and Naruto promised to meet Kakashi in front of the Hokage's Tower two days from now.

* * *

**===Two days later and training initiation===**

Hyuuga Kasumi was waiting patiently in front of the Hokage's tower for both her boyfriend and her little brother figure.

She had just returned from what could possibly be labeled as the most boring mission she had ever participated in. Most diplomatic missions were, but this one earned the prize by far. It was two weeks of her life wasted and she feared it would take longer to compensate for it. Hours before arrival, she had received a message from her boyfriend's nin-dogs saying to meet him and Naruto in front of the Hokage's tower at precisely nine hundred hours. Coming to think though as she noticed the time, Kasumi felt like smashing her forehead multiple times for not remembering the type of fame earned by Sharingan no Kakashi inside the village. Kakashi was late for most about anything. However, a creepy smile suddenly appeared on her face as she was already counting how many tenketsu she would be closing because of his tardiness. Unconsciously, Kasumi activated her dojutsu while imagining his tenketsu when an image appeared behind her that made her really….really angry.

Instantly vanishing via shunshin, she appeared on top of a rooftop in front of the Hokage's tower right behind two individuals, one with blond hair and the other with gray hair. These two had the audacity of purposely making her wait. When Naruto arrived at the location, Kakashi said something about playing a prank at Kasumi. He went along with it. When the woman activated her byakugan and leaked a little bit of killing intent, both genin and jounin flinched and slowly turned their heads together only to see a great load of veins coming out of Kasumi's face. Oh boy was she angry! Thus Naruto did the only thing he could think of in order to get away of having his tenketsu closed.

"He was the one that came up with the idea." Kakashi's only visible eye widened upon seeing Naruto's finger pointed at him, before he saw Kasumi smiling at him still with the eyes active.

Once at the training ground, Kakashi was placed on the ground by Kasumi and Naruto. The man was simply paralyzed, but Naruto swore he saw the man smiling, despite his situation. Little did Naruto know that Kakashi loved seeing Kasumi's angry look. He constantly did this just to irritate her. Figuring that Naruto wouldn't receive any training today because of the man's inability, he took a seat in front of his big brother figure. Kasumi, though, cleared her throat, calling for Naruto's attention.

"Whoever said you had the luxury of slacking off, Naruto-kun?" She was doing some stretches, which slightly scared the sharingan user. "From what Kakashi-kun told me, your opponent is Hyuuga Neji." The blond got up from his position and nodded at the question. "Well, if I remember correctly, he is considered by the clan a prodigy of the jyuuken. While Kakashi's tenketsu takes its time opening, I'll be sparring with you. This time, though, I'll use my byakugan unlike before." Naruto nodded, while seeing Kasumi's eyes activate once more. He had only time to activate his sharingan, before blocking an incoming strike that was aimed at his chest. His eyes were widened instantly at the sheer speed. His eyes were able to anticipate her movements, but his body almost didn't move in time. He could see a smile on Kasumi's face despite the byakugan activated.

"It seems you're much faster than before, Naruto-kun. However, I don't know if it's the sharingan talking or yourself." Naruto had to snort at the comment.

"This coming from another dojutsu user, that is quite rich." Naruto added with a few punches to which Kasumi blocked. Naruto created a distance between the two as he gathered fire in his lungs.

_Katon Dai Endan (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)_

Kasumi smirked at the technique, before evading with relatively ease. She saw Naruto waiting at the place she was about to land and gathered a few shuriken, before throwing it at the blond. The genin saw the projectiles and cursed the woman for ruining his plans. With his sword, he diverted the shuriken, before charging once more, this time with his sword in hand. Kasumi nodded with a smile on her face. She knew she didn't have to tell him to come at her with the intent to kill. When it comes to ninja affairs, the boy was strictly professional. She was surprised when the tomes in his eyes started spinning, inducing her in a induced sleep. That was her boyfriend's move! Quickly dispelling the genjutsu, she was surprised to see not one Naruto, but three coming at her from three sides. Focusing more chakra to her limbs, Kasumi acknowledged the increase in both skill and speed.

What happened next, not even the sharingan could've helped the blond.

Kasumi began to spin rapidly before a dome of blue chakra surrounded her, eliminating all the clones. He was sent flying as well, trying to nurse the pain in his chest from the blow. While flying, though, he started hand seals, while using the momentum to flip in mid air and smash his hands on the ground, surprising the Hyuuga. Three stones rose from the ground in key placed around her position, trapping her for good. She looked around searching for a way out.

_Doton Ganban Kyuu (Earth Release: Rock Plate Coffin Technique)_

The noise of clapping stopped the fight as Kakashi came walking as if he had just arrived and was bored out of his mind.

"An effective technique, Naruto. I remember facing that one a couple times in the war. You've become quite adapt at fire and earth jutsu, haven't you? That's good. Plus trapping a Hyuuga in genjutsu was unheard of." He turned to his girlfriend and smiled at her unasked question. "Despite how irritated you are, you still restrain yourself when you attack me. Your blows weren't as effective as it would be against an enemy. It didn't take that long to heal, then. I have to say, though, Kasumi-chan…" She looked at him wondering what he was about to say. "I believe that Naruto-kun just won this little spar of yours." Oh how he loved to spite her. Kasumi was looking at him with her fierce byakugan. "If you try to break one of the stones and open the path, Naruto will close the other and crush you. If you do anything at all, Naruto will crush you. The only way to escape that technique is either a kawarimi precisely the same time that Naruto closes the pillars or through another earth technique that the user hides below ground."

Rubbing his chest a little, Naruto released his control over the pillars and approached Kakashi. He learned one very important lesson. When a Hyuuga starts spinning, get the hell out of the way!

"From what I saw from your fight, Naruto, I could see a couple areas we can explore for this month. You already know enough to become a chunnin, so we'll focus on improving what you can already do." At first, the boy thought about disagreeing with said logic, but then thought against it. This worked better for him as he could work his side projects without getting caught. Kakashi knew this, though and expected the young sharingan user to question, but continued nonetheless. "From what I saw, your agility increased and you managed to close a few openings you had in your taijutsu and kenjutsu form. I think a certain Anbu helped you with that, right?" Kakashi couldn't help but smile at his student upon getting caught. "Don't worry Naruto, he is a good acquaintance of mine. Now, basically, what we'll be doing is training your body." Naruto gave Kakashi an eloquent response to what the jounin said.

"Huh?"

"Precisely what I said; you already possess the skills of a chunnin, two elements ninjutsu, genjutsu, kenjutsu and taijutsu. The only path left to follow is improving your body. Muscle training will increase the strength behind your strikes. Agility training will help increase your speed. Another skill you lack is experience, so you'll be fighting either me or Kasumi-chan at the end of the day. We'll take advantage of your healing ability granted by the fox and do this every day." Kakashi first believed he was crazy in taking advice from Gai in how to train Naruto. The man surprisingly so came up with a few interesting physical exercises similar to what the man's genin Rock Lee goes through every day. While Lee has to rest every now and then because of the strain placed in his body, Naruto doesn't need to, because of the Kyuubi inside of him.

Kasumi wasn't going to question the man, but she somehow knew that Naruto will suffer…a lot. If she wasn't so sure before, she was when Kakashi took a scroll from his kunai holster and dispelled its contents on the ground in front of him.

Gravity worked its magic, though, and two of the weights that fell from the scroll had sunk into the ground. Naruto's eyes were widened beyond normal as he saw the craters while Kakashi still maintained that smile as if it was nothing. Looking at the weights, he could see some sort of order in them. The ones from the furthest right were the smallest. The size of the ones that followed was bigger than the previous one. The craters showed the heaviest, he assumed with a small sweat drop. Without saying anything for the time, Kakashi took another scroll, this time a much larger one and unrolled it on the ground. Making a large series of hand seals, he sacrificed some blood on the parchment before a large smoke covered the training ground. When it settled, both Kasumi and Naruto were speechless. In front of them was what appeared to be a training course filled with obstacles like tree logs, kunai launchers and sword traps. Naruto was now sure of yet another thing. But he had to ask, though.

"Are you nuts?" His answer as expected was a smile.

"I introduce you to Anbu level training course number 15. I had obtained authorization from the Hokage to use it with you. We have one month for you to adapt to at least the third heaviest set of weights. When I say adapt, I say able to fight as if you weren't wearing weights as well as complete this training course before a specific time limit." Despite the smile, Kakashi had in fact a reason he was pushing Naruto so hard and becoming a chunnin wasn't it. Naruto didn't need training for that.

No, the reason was to appease Uchiha Itachi the next time he reported in. Only when Itachi attested that Naruto was ready to face the monsters he said he was working with, then the boy could relax. He saw that Naruto was quietly waging how fierce his training will be in deep and concentrated silence. He could see that Naruto wasted a couple seconds on each set of weight while picturing those holding him down for the first time. Kakashi remembered that Itachi had introduced himself to Naruto just before the exams started. He knew how Itachi enjoyed psychological warfare in his assignments as any genjutsu master does. Kakashi didn't need to ask Naruto what happened to know. Itachi wasn't someone who wasted time stating the qualities of someone, but rather the weaknesses and only the weaknesses. He surely must have put Naruto down a few steps; by saying Naruto didn't have what it takes to beat someone like him. Few remembered the age difference or the fact that Itachi had received Anbu level training since he was Naruto's age.

The boy after five minutes lifted his head up and faced Kakashi.

"I guess I should pick the first ones, right." Both Kakashi and Kasumi watched the genin in silence as he resolutely placed the weights on his legs and arms. There was no doubt in their minds that Naruto wouldn't even think of quitting.

Many would and many had, but not him. That was why Naruto had earned Kakashi's respect and Itachi's even if the latter will never admit it in front of anyone.

"Remember that in order for you to move to the next set, you must retain the same speed you possess as if you weren't wearing any weights." Naruto nodded and stood with the first set of weights. Since it was the first, the strain wasn't so significant, but it was there nonetheless. He got accustomed to wearing no weights, so it was understandable. Forcing his arms a little bit more than necessary, Naruto formed a familiar hand seal, surprising both Kakashi and Kasumi. The boy was wasting chakra with Kage bunshins when he needed it to increase the strength of his muscles. Ten bunshins stood in front of the original one and stared at him for a while. A nice aspect of the bunshins was that Naruto didn't need to give them orders, when he had summoned them with a specific purpose already. Five would maintain his fire manipulation training while the other five would perform earth manipulation exercises. The clones merely nodded and vanished from their position.

Kakashi approached the original who was watching the clones disappear.

"Wouldn't it be better to consume your energy? Chakra is one of the tools you have at your disposal to ease the strain caused from the weights."

"Despite this training being only physical, I can't simply abandon the rest. I have a few ambitions of my own and I want to see them through. One month is just too much wasted time. Chakra wise, though, I simply don't know how much I have or if the concept of chakra exhaustion even applies to me." Kakashi was busy just listening to the boy. "Every day, after the precious hours of sleep, at least when the nightmares stops, I go and train two or three hours with Tori; after that, I start team practices for another three hours. Even then, I still have energy for missions and more training. The fox maybe a curse, but it has given me the benefit or never getting sick, suffering from chakra exhaustion or muscle strain. I shall use it to the full extent, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto didn't even wait for Kakashi to give him an counter-argument, before he began a slow pace throughout the training field, in order to get acquainted with the extra weight.

Kasumi stopped by his side as he looked the blond running.

"His stamina scares me sometimes. A normal shinobi wouldn't keep up with half the chakra waste and is still taken to the hospital for a one week treatment for chakra exhaustion. Perhaps you're all putting too much pressure on him. His body may keep up, but the brain may not."

Kakashi sighed in dismay. He knew it to be one hundred percent accurate. There was only problem, though.

"The problem is that Naruto just doesn't have the benefit of growing at a moderate pace. He has enemies that even the Sandaime Hokage would think twice before facing."

* * *

**===Two weeks later===**

Two weeks has passed since Naruto's training and right now he'd managed to reach half of the training weights placed by Kakashi. If the boy had to describe these past two weeks with only one word, it would be 'gruesome'. His muscles ached most most of the time as he continuously pushed his body past its limit. Having the fox was both a blessing in terms of how long he could train and a curse as well, seeing as despite knowing that his muscles would never be strained, it didn't mean that he wouldn't feel unbearable pain from each step. Regardless, the boy persevered. At first, he saw little merit in this type of training, until he decided to remove every piece of weight on his limbs. The genin couldn't even control his speed anymore. Kakashi laughed his ass off at the time because Naruto ended up being hit by a rather thick tree because he couldn't control his speed.

Because of this, it was decided that before increasing the weights, Naruto would have to waste a few hours to get accustomed to his new speed.

The training course turned out to be lots of fun for the blond. It increased his agility and helped him how to escape from dangerous situations with very little room for escape. He had to remain in the field.

Because of the weights, speed wasn't the only improvement, but the strength behind the attacks. When Naruto removed the weights, his body still moved as if the weights were still on and placed more strength behind the punches. The logs were being beat relentlessly. When Naruto managed to hit Kasumi, the woman had lost her breath instantly. After that, it was decided that Kakashi would be pitted against him in spars, although the man was dreading this also. When Kasumi receives a hit, she directs chakra to the spot so as to reduce the damage. He didn't have that ability. The man had to use his sharingan to completely evade Naruto's punches. Kakashi had forgotten the last time he received a punch like this when he constantly sparred with Gai. Naruto wasn't quite there yet, but he would be soon. The difference between the taijutsu specialist and Naruto was that Gai's strength was entirely focused on his muscles. Naruto had not only that, in smaller amounts of course, but a huge chakra capacity to enforce his limbs as well.

While the original Naruto was busy increasing his body, his clones were busy improving chakra related techniques, going from chakra control, fire and earth manipulation to genjutsu.

The clones had managed to decrease the time necessary to activate the stone armor defense, now taking close to three seconds for each limb and an entire minute for the entire body. The sharingan managed to pinpoint the enemy's movement, so Naruto would know immediately which part of his body he needed to protect. Not to mention the increased damage he could do when he enforced his fists with the technique. The clones that were doing fire manipulation managed to increase the level of control, until one clone was able to release white flames. According to the scroll given by Tori, white flames manipulation was considered a high level fire technique and very few shinobi in Konoha managed to reach said level, those being elite members of the Uchiha Clan and the Sandaime Hokage. This gave Naruto an idea for a jutsu as he could use the same principle of the Dai Endan technique and manipulate white flames to form a high powered mid-range technique towards the opponent.

_Katon Shiroi Hidan (Fire Release: White Flames Projectile Technique)_

After a few tests, the results were above Naruto's expectations. The wooden poles were burned to a crisp much faster than his usual fire techniques.

It was night time and Kakashi gave Naruto the rest of the day off from training so that his body can rest a bit. Naruto accepted it eagerly. He would take this time and focus on his chakra rather than his body. The training ground happened to be located near a small river, thus the perfect place for him to practice his new fire technique. After stepping close to the river's margin, Naruto began a considerable series of hand seals as he manipulated fire chakra inside his lungs. When the hand seals stopped, Naruto gathered a huge quantity of air as chest even inflated because of it. Using the memory of his clones, he ignited the fire inside his lungs with more chakra changing its color until he could feel the unbearable heat inside his chest. There was a reason this was a high level technique. If something wrong happened, his organs would be burned instead. He expelled the hot white flame towards the river and it illuminated a huge part of the forest that was once filled with darkness.

Naruto needed to exhale every last bit of flame that was inside his lungs, so it he ended up consuming a huge amount of chakra for the technique.

After finishing the technique, he could see that some of it managed to reach the other side of the lake, burning the trees there as well. Naruto realized that something was slightly wrong with it. He needed to focus more in realizing the exact amount of chakra as well as the amount of air needed for the technique. If someone were to evade the technique, he needed to find a way of stopping the technique without endangering his organs. He was about to attempt again, when he heard a familiar voice approaching him.

"A very dangerous technique you got there, Naruto." Kakashi said as he approached the lad with his hands inside his pockets. "I wasn't aware how far you managed to go with fire manipulation."

Naruto knew that said level was only achievable through long periods of time practicing, perhaps longer than his actual age in training.

"Training with clones has its benefits. Ever since I started with them, I managed to cover close to two years worth of training. However, it's still not fully perfected. The technique consumes too much chakra and it's too risky if the enemy manages to evade it. Plus, I have to coat my lungs with chakra so as to harm them. White flames manipulation is quite damaging to it." Kakashi nodded at the kid, seeing as he was taking all the necessary precaution for it. "I thought you're sleeping Kakashi-sensei?" Kakashi smiled at the question. Naruto had illuminated the entire area with his jutsu. Probably the entire Forest was awake because of the genin.

"That technique of yours illuminated the entire forest, Naruto. Plus Kasumi can be quite grumpy when she is awakened in the middle of the night. Just don't stay up so late. Tomorrow you'll receive the next set of weights." Naruto nodded and Kakashi went back to the training ground to rest once more. He attempted the technique one more time, this time with less chakra. It didn't pack the same punch as the first time, but he managed to stop in the middle of the technique. He figured that a nice balance would not only pack a nice punch but allow him to cancel the technique in time. Figuring that it was enough for the day, Naruto turned towards the camp where he would be able to close his eyes once more and get some rest. Little did he know, though, that Naruto was being watched by a certain long purple haired Anbu. Itsuko was busy doing a couple of routines throughout the training ground and happened to see the bright sun created by Naruto.

For some reason, she couldn't help but want to check on him. Being an orphan like him, Itsuko remembered how tough it was for her growing up without a family to support her.

She wasn't even originally from Konoha as she was born in Amegakure. Her parents were shinobi from there as well. When she was six, her parents were killed while on a mission in Kirigakure, leaving her alone in the world. Itsuko remembered how despite the gigantic pain she felt upon knowing what happened, it didn't stop her from fleeing Amegakure by hiding inside a caravan that was passing through Fire Country. Being a kunoichi was her dream since she could remember. So she went to Konoha and asked asylum for the Hokage. The kind old man gave her an apartment and some money for her. He even enrolled her at the ninja academy. Itsuko managed to get a job in a supply store at the age of seven and later at a ninja store when she was nine. No matter what happened, Itsuko always found a way to take care of herself. It was something she learned from her father. Once at the academy, she became one of the best students, graduating at twelve years old. When she was fourteen, she was promoted to chunnin and was recruited to the Anbu forces as a junior officer soon after being promoted.

Despite it all, she never forgot the pain of being an orphan. So, like the boy in front of her, she pushed her pain aside and focused solely on her ninja duties. She had acquired some friends along the way, but nowadays they were no more than comrades. The only person who came even remotely close to gaining her complete trust was her sensei Nara Shikaku. He in the end became more of a father to her, offering advice when needed and being there for her when she needed someone to talk to. However, it wasn't enough for Itsuko as she needed someone who could understand her. Only an orphan can understand an orphan, no matter how much a person can claim he or she understands what it is to lose ones parents.

Figuring that appearing out of the blue just like that wasn't the way to go, Itsuko vanished from her position. She waited for a long time to find someone to whom she could relate to. It was no problem to wait a little longer when Naruto gets promoted to chunnin. Perhaps she could even talk to Tori-buntaichou about her coming along to his and Naruto's kenjutsu practices.

* * *

**===One day left to the tournament===**

With only one day left to the exams, both Kakashi and Kasumi were busy heading to Naruto's apartment. The genin managed a great majority of the weights, leaving the three heaviest. His mind couldn't handle the strain of both training his body and mind as hard as he did. Quickly opening the door, Kakashi placed Naruto inside his bed while Kasumi checked his body for muscle strains. Activating the byakugan, it didn't take her long to finish the examination.

"How is he?" Kasumi could sense concern from her boyfriend, but a relieved sigh from her mouth relaxed him.

"He is okay, just completely exhausted. As we speak, I can see traces of the fox's chakra spreading through his body repairing the soared muscles and ligaments. Tomorrow he'll be good as new."

"That is good to hear. We should have stopped sooner, perhaps two days ago. Let's leave him then."

Kasumi nodded, before they closed the door to Naruto's apartment. Tomorrow was going to be very busy for the young sharingan user.

* * *

**Author Note**

Phew, finally!

Well, I thus managed to cover his entire training and now can start the exam.

I first tried to come up with a scene of Itsuko meeting Naruto for the first time, but I thought against it. I wasn't happy with what I was creating, so I changed a little bit. She will meet him soon now.

Please review.

See ya next chapter.


	13. Family Secrets

**Author Note**

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of cursed eyes.

Once again, one of my stories reaches the time of the Sand-Sound invasion and quite frankly, I'm not that much interested in writing it all over again. I believe some of you will understand why, so I have decided to write the events that occur after the chunnin exams and the following invasion. So, as some already figured out, this chapter will have lots and lots of flashbacks concerning the important events that happened in our blond hero's troubled life. I sincerely think that this course of action is way better than going through the invasion, because I can cover two chapter materials with only one chapter, instead. That being said, the invasion will be similar to the actual events, with a few twists.

Now, before I begin the chapter, I'd like to take some time and answer the reviews.

_**Nanashi113**_– Like Yamato explained in canon, an elemental bloodline consists of equal element capacity. Thus, Naruto needs to reach full mastery of both fire and earth to begin lava techniques. Therefore, I wish for him to take more time learning and mastering both fire and earth elements, before beginning with lava release techniques. It wouldn't be credible if he managed to perform lava techniques out of the blue. In chapter 13, I'll come up with his next step towards mastering fire manipulation, so check it out.

_**GaijinSamurai**_– It's interesting that you mentioned that his fire release would be strong if he was Madara Uchiha or Sandaime Hokage. In this chapter, I'll present a new development in this regard that may very well please your expectations. As to Itsuko's sudden interest in him, I'm not planning on using the orphan approach as the only link between them; just so that they could find something as a starting point. Anyway, I also don't enjoy rushing things. It will take some time before anything happens between the two. Itsuko will appear in chapter 13 as well, so check it out and tell me what you think about it. Also, tell me what you think of my approach after the end of the chapter.

_**McCabeRz**_– I'm just placing this to answer past questions about who would be paired with Naruto.

_**Malsyn**_– Itsuko is five years older than Naruto.

_**Rake1810**_ – No, I placed him under Kakashi and Kasumi's tutorship, so as to repeat what happened when the boy wasn't a genin yet.

Now that that's out of the way, let us begin.

* * *

**Chapter 13 – Family secrets**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

It is said that in order to fully grasp a situation, one has to look through all the angles.

As he stood on top of the Hokage Monument, Uzumaki Naruto was busy looking over the village he had sworn to protect now filled with smoke and destruction. If someone had told him, the day of the chunnin exams final, that so much would happen to him in less than a day he would no doubt remain skeptic about it all. Nevertheless, it did happen and now the village was busy collecting the spoils of war. No sooner had the exam started; the hidden village in the leaves was victimized of an invasion by two hidden villages, Sunagakure and Otogakure. They enemy was clever as hell, Naruto could give them that. If there was one time when a hidden village is at its weakest it was the finals of the chunnin exams. Even if the village increases security, it is almost impossible to protect the population and protect the nobles that came to the exam and retaliate at the same time.

Because of this, if the village hesitated for even a second, the result would be one hundred percent different.

Yes, Konoha became victorious as expected from the strongest of the great hidden villages. However, said victory came with a heavy price as the village had lost its fair share of shinobi who were declared heroes for defending the village with their lives. Naruto actually managed to save some that were being overpowered by the enemy, but he was just one. He saw the lives of his comrades being taken and realized how useless he was at not being able to prevent them from dying. Hell, if it wasn't for someone helping him, he had doubt if even he wouldn't be one of the victims of this hellish invasion. At the time, he believed himself in way over his head in being able to face off against six chunnin level ninja from Sand and Sound, even with the amount of training he endured with Kakashi.

* * *

_**Flashback on**_

_Naruto was still inside the chunnin exams arena as he battled against a couple of Sound chunnin shinobi on his own. The invasion army came in strong and managed to separate the sharingan user from his genin peers. With his sharingan activated, it didn't take long for Naruto to parry the chunnin's kunai and slash their stomachs. The blond ignored the amount of blood that filled his clothing. Now was not the time to wipe it off. He only had to be sure that none of it was his own. He was at the stands when the chunnin attacked and attempted to move towards the arena when he saw a group of four Konoha chunnin being overpowered by a contingent of ten shinobi from Sound and Sand. His sharingan was quick to spot an enemy in front of Naruto as he ran towards the arena. Quickly grabbing two shuriken, he threw the projectiles with great speed and accuracy that forced the enemy to evade._

_Naruto was by his side and managed to make good use of his sword to deal with the enemy. Right now, handling two swords was ill advised since Naruto needed one free hand. _

_When Naruto managed to arrive at the arena, he had briefly lost his breath as he saw his comrades' blood falling on the arena's sand, before two chunnin lay dead on the ground. It was clear that the enemy held the advantage in numbers. With the sharingan, Naruto could see the death of the others and moved quickly. Right now, there were two Konoha chunnin about to be attacked by what was left of this specific enemy group. Naruto could attest that his peers were suffering from exhaustion at making their stand against a group twice in size and certainly wouldn't be able to defend themselves against the onslaught that was sure to follow. Performing a quick shunshin and appearing in front of the downed chunnin, Naruto was quick in gather mud inside his throat. _

_Doton Doryuuheki (Earth Release: Mud Wall Technique)_

_The defensive wall had risen at the same time as the attack, so Naruto managed to save the chunnin. Quickly making a couple of kage bunshin to take them away from here, Naruto deactivated the barrier and faced the contingent of six enemy shinobi all on his own. He had to give the bunshin time to save his peers, after all. The enemy all but laughed at his presence and quite frankly Naruto understood his sudden mistake in believing him skilled enough to beat six chunnin level shinobi. Certainly, it wasn't his best plan and he admitted counting on saving the downed chunnin as more important than having any form of back up against these guys. It turned out that when number advantage is concerned, there is always one of the group who underestimates the presumably weak side. In this case, they were two. One from Sound and another from Sand teamed up and charged against Naruto head on. With his sharingan, Naruto quickly captured the sound ninja inside a genjutsu while parrying the sand ninja's kunai with his sword. Using the enemy's strength against him, Naruto took one step backwards and took advantage of the enemy losing his footage, before piercing the man's chest with his sword. _

_The one captured in a genjutsu received a load of shuriken on his chest. _

_Naruto's second mistake came in him demonstrating to the other four that he had skill that awarded caution, hence that the other four would now come at him with strategy instead of attacking based on underestimation. Quickly summoning three kage bunshins, the original stood back and watched the enemy facing his bunshins in straight taijutsu. His doppelgangers managed to defeat one of them, but the other three managed to dispose of the bunshins quickly by throwing shuriken on their backs. The sharingan was ill effective against that. It seemed that he couldn't escape now as the three enemies were closing in on him. One suna shinobi charged from the right and one sound ninja charged from the left. The other went straight, trapping Naruto. The blond sighed in dismay at his disadvantage and figured that he could at least choose one and kill him before the others reached his destination. He met the one coming at him head on and grabbed his other sword for a quick kill. He was successful in his endeavor as he deflected a kunai with his kodashi and delivered the killing blow with his katana. _

_Naruto felt a chill up his spine as both the shinobi that covered the dead one's flank now appeared behind him, ready to kill him. _

_When the genin felt no pain whatsoever, he was startled to hear the familiar sound of pain coming from the two shinobi behind him. When Naruto looked to see what happened, he saw much to his surprise the long-haired Anbu there. From her arms, Naruto ventured a guess that she managed to kill them by throwing projectiles. Naruto's heart was pounding in his chest as he came to terms with the fact that if the woman hadn't been there, or if she had arrived two seconds later, he would've been killed. It was a great lesson in humility for him as he now understood that shinobi's usual life span is dictated mostly by luck and less by one's skill. His current adrenaline was all that helped him from taking a seat right where he stood. Looking at the Anbu, he couldn't help but appreciate for her saving his life._

"_Thank you for saving my life, Anbu-san." Itsuko, behind her mask, smiled at him and nodded. _

"_You're most welcome, though it is ill-advised to fight on your own but I'm impressed you managed to take care of so many." _

_Naruto nodded, while glad that another Anbu had just complimented his skills._

"_Yeah, I realized that mistake but I was assisting a group of chunnin. Four of them were killed and two were gravely injured. I had to save them. After that, though, I ended up alone against them." _

"_We should pair up as I have lost sight of my squad as well. I could use your skills, but you must follow my lead. There are a few places we need to protect." Naruto nodded and followed the Anbu out of the stadium and towards the center of the village. Now that Naruto had a chance to look at the Anbu, he recognized her as the one who used to follow him around at times. Seeing as she had just saved his life, he felt compelled to ask her. _

"_I know that an Anbu's identity is a secret, but I was hoping to know the name of the one that saved my life." Itsuko smirked once more, before looking at him. _

"_Indeed it is, but if we survive through the end of this invasion, I'll tell you my name. Also, please don't be like this, I was merely doing the same thing you did with those two chunnin". Naruto smirked at this and shut his mouth as they ran through the rooftops. It turned out that they made a good pair. Both excelled in taijutsu and close-ranged combat. One would back the other up as they faced genin, chunnin and even jounin enemies. Naruto learned that she was proficient in doton ninjutsu just as he was. _

* * *

_**Flashback off**_

Like she had promised, the Anbu had told Naruto her name after the end of the invasion. The blond thought that she wouldn't, considering the amount of precaution behind keeping Anbu's identity a secret. After she had saved him from death, the two managed to score a great number of kills together. Naruto noticed something when he fought by her side. He noticed that it didn't take long for their movements to be in perfect synchronization as if they have fought together all their lives. He was certain that she had enjoyed just as much seeing as after it was over, she had asked for his help in cleaning the village and searching for their peers. He also got to know Tachi Itsuko and was surprised to hear that she was an orphan just like he was. While doing the search, they fell into a conversation about varied subjects and promised each other to hang out from time to time for lunch.

Looking at the village from his place, Naruto couldn't help but remember the enormous sight of the one tailed demon ravaging the forest that surrounded the village.

At the time, he was already running through the village with Itsuko when he turned to her and asked how Konoha would deal with that monster. Itsuko looked at the Ichibi manifestation and turned back to Naruto. She didn't need to say anything as a massive red toad came crashing on the ground in front of the beast. The sannin Jiraiya was on top of the red toad and after a battle of epic proportions, Jiraiya managed to slam a strange seal that happened to cut the link between jinchuuriki and the demon inside. The Ichibi Jinchuuriki was then captured along with his two siblings. The blond remembered, then, how fierce the battle was. The Ichibi, one time, used a giant ball of wind that was stopped by the red toad's giant water ball. The impact alone made the land tremble in fury. The blond realized after witnessing the battle that he needed this level of power if he even hoped to be a challenge for when Itachi came with his group.

He needed to train twice as hard now.

Naruto sensed chakra being used behind him and turned slightly before greeting Itsuko one more time.

"Naruto, the council is requiring your presence; I'm here to take you there."

The blond nodded and got up from his seating position, before grabbing Itsuko's hand for a quick shunshin. When they reappeared, they were inside a room filled with shinobi from chunnin and above. He saw the jounin sensei, Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai and Gai as well as Aburame Shino and Inzuka Kiba there apparently waiting for him to begin, which was odd seeing as they were the only _genin_ present in the room. Jiraiya was there as well, hanging near the room door. At the end of the room, three individuals were seating behind a nice mahogany rectangle shape table. They were the two members of the council and former comrades of the Sandaime Hokage, named Homaru and Koharu. The other person was Shimura Danzou, former commander of a separate league of Anbu, called Root. Homura stood up and cleared his throat, asking for silence before beginning.

"Now that everyone's present, we may begin this meeting. As most of you know, the invasion was schemed by former sannin Orochimaru. We learned that that snake managed to fool Sunagakure into joining the invasion for the sole purpose of having the opportunity to kill our beloved Sandaime Hokage and destroy the hidden village in the leaves. While he wasn't successful in destroying the leaf, sadly so, he was able to kill Sarutobi Hiruzen. But note that Sarutobi didn't go without fighting to the death as he managed to seal off Orochimaru's arms permanently. As his teammate, I'd like to ask everyone for a minute of silence as we mourn Sarutobi Hiruzen's death." Naruto felt incredible pain in his chest upon hearing this. The old man was perhaps the only one who has ever cared for him throughout his entire life. If it wasn't for the kind old man, Naruto wouldn't know what would happen to him. Later on in his life, he met Kakashi-sensei and Kasumi-neechan. He also made friends with his teammates and now Itsuko. But only one man stood with him through all his life and that was the Sandaime Hokage.

Naruto closed his eyes in determination as he imagined his grandfather figure standing in front of him. He would get stronger…strong enough to make the old man proud of him.

"I'll let everybody know that we will be having a funeral for him as well as those who have lost their lives." Homura once more cleared his throat as he moved with the next item of agenda. "Because of the Hokage's demise, we are now under the necessity of finding someone for the position of Godaime Hokage. Sadly so, Jiraiya had declined the position but he also had informed of another suitable candidate, that being the third Sannin Senju Tsunade. Jiraiya will personally search for her and bring him back. While Jiraiya is busy searching for our next Hokage, the rest of our shinobi will be busy performing high level missions to keep our reputation for other hidden villages. If either Kumo or Iwa took advantage of our current situation, we'd be lost."

After Homura finished talking, the entire room started to ignite in conversation, as they imagined now doing A to S-ranked missions from now on.

"So that we can go to our homes, there is one more item and this happened to be given to me personally by our Hokage. Even though the chunnin exams were interrupted, that does not mean that the rewards wouldn't be given to the genin that showed tremendous skill and chunnin level of leadership and strategy. Would Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba and Uzumaki Naruto step forward, please?" Now Naruto knew why only three genin were in this room. "For the skills and strategy displayed in your fights, I hereby declare you three as chunnin of Konoha. Please remember that a chunnin is a leader in the battlefield and that it will be required of you to lead both genin and fellow chunnin in both missions and war. Here are your chunnin vests." The genin's reactions were varied with Kiba, of course, being the most vocal of the three. Shino appeared impassive and few could actually see the slight smirk beneath his jacket. Naruto displayed a pleasant smile on his face as he grabbed the vest and immediately put it on.

He remembered his fight against Hyuuga Neji and how fierce the battle was.

* * *

_**Flashback on**_

_It was the first battle of the tournament and people were looking forward to it. _

_Both Hyuuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto were considered the best of their respective generation, even if Neji had the advantage of being more experienced in the shinobi arts. The odds were actually considered equal and the battle could go to either one. It didn't take long for the stadium to be filled in preparation for the spectacle that was about to take place. The chunnin hopefuls were already aligned in front of the proctor while waiting for the Hokage to give the signal. This time, already, people were up in the stands making bets mostly for the Hyuuga prodigy as no one actually knew much about Naruto, aside from his doujutsu the sharingan. While it would be perceived as an extreme advantage in the eyes of many, Naruto not being a part of the Uchiha Clan was counted as him not having that much experience with the new ability. It was of course inevitable, because their information was based on the genin's information chart._

_Very few in the audience saw the blond in action and that happened to be his peers and the jounin sensei. _

_There was a silence in the audience when both the Hokage and the Kazekage appeared and waved at the crowd. The Hokage then sent the signal for the fight to start. The proctor, Shiranui Genma, ordered everyone besides Naruto and Neji to go up the genin booth. Since both Chouji and Ino managed to pass to the last phase, both were by Naruto's side wishing him luck to which Naruto nodded with a smile on his face. Two minutes later, Neji and Naruto stood staring at each other. The Hyuuga prodigy was smiling at the blond._

"_Is something wrong?" Naruto asked, not enjoying the look on his opponent's face. _

"_Fate has already declared me as the winner of this match." Naruto quirked an eyebrow at such bold proclamation, but Neji wasn't finished. "Even if you have the sharingan, you're not an Uchiha. I on the other hand am a full blooded Hyuuga. You will have no chance against me as Fate has already decided the winner of the match." Naruto didn't know what this guy was saying or even why he was counting an advantage just because of this reason. Even if he wasn't an Uchiha, Naruto has proven to everyone that he could use the doujutsu just as good as any member of the deceased clan. Choosing, instead, to stay calm about the whole thing, Naruto merely awaited for the proctor to start the match. _

_As soon as the proctor showed the signal to start, Neji charged Naruto with impressive speed. _

_However, speed was essentially Naruto's training for the month. The sharingan user had enough knowledge on fighting with Hyuuga to know how to properly defend the attacks. Soon it became an impressive display of taijutsu battle with neither side showing dominance. For a Hyuuga, Neji was expected to be a taijutsu specialist but for Naruto it was a plus in the judge's analysis. A few considered to be suicide to battle a Hyuuga in such close quarters because of their ability to close tenketsu, but Naruto didn't appear to mind this as he was trading blows taking into account Neji's glowing fingers. Their agility pretty much matched as well. After blocking an attempt to seal the tenketsu in his arm, Naruto managed to create a small distance. Neji charged immediately, but was stopped when Naruto threw a couple of shuriken at him, before moving through hand seals. _

_Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)_

_Two shurikens became twenty and while Neji was busy dealing with the shuriken, Naruto got ample time to consider his strategy. Neji was quick just like he was. Thus, close combat wouldn't be the key for victory. Genjutsu was also out of the question since Neji could see them and dispel it almost immediately. Naruto could use his ocular genjutsu on Neji or even attempt a double layer one that Kakashi was telling him about, but he wasn't very experienced in it. That left ninjutsu and maintaining a distance. Seeing that Neji managed to deflect most of the shuriken, missing only one that managed to rip off his right sleeve and draw some blood, Naruto began another series of hand seals, before inhaling air inside his lungs. _

_Katon Dai Endan (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)_

_The huge sphere of fire charged at Neji at the same time he had dealt with the shuriken. The Hyuuga prodigy snarled at working his ass off to deflect the projectiles. Naruto wasn't allowing him time to rest. Neji was fast, but he wasn't able to move out of the fireball's path. With no option left, the prodigy started spinning while focusing on his tenketsus at the same time, creating a dome of blue chakra around him, shocking the number of Hyuuga members in the crowd. Naruto had already seen the move being performed by Kasumi, so it wasn't such a big deal. Continuing with his course of action and performing a similar strategy, Naruto went through another set of hand seals, before slamming both hands on the ground._

_Doton Ganban Kyuu (Earth Release: Rock Plate Coffin Technique)_

_When Neji stopped his spinning, the prodigy was surprised when three pillars of rock grew inches from his place, forming a triangle prison with him inside. Up in the stands, both Kakashi and Kasumi smiled at that. The same strategy was used on her as well and it worked. Neji looked at the pillars and snarled at the blond genin in front of him. Immediately, his brain began to process an exit strategy. Naruto, though, looked at his opponent._

"_You should consider forfeiting, Neji. You move and I crush you. You try to destroy one pillar; I'll crush you all the same. You dare move and it will be your end." _

_Neji's byakugan was looking for something to aid him as he thought of what to do. He managed to see a small rock which he could use for a replacement. He smirked at this unsettling Naruto a bit. He wasn't going to risk anything in this fight, thus he activated his sharingan. Since Neji wasn't about to forfeit, it was clear that he wasn't counting on suicide, which meant the prodigy had a backup plan. Goring through with his threat, Naruto closed the pillars, shocking everyone in the crowd. However, there was no blood so Naruto guessed right. He sensed the chakra residue and followed Neji's position. His plan was working so far in striking from a distance. As soon as Neji appeared in the rock's place, he immediately charged Naruto hoping to cut the distance. Seeing this, Naruto summoned five kage bunshins to meet Neji half way while the original had sunk below ground. Neji was busy fending off the bunshins that he had his focus elsewhere and didn't see what the real one did. _

_The clones weren't a challenge and Neji dealt with them quite easily. However, when he was looking for the real one, he couldn't find the sharingan user. _

_Neji was already breathing hard since he was using the byakugan since the beginning of the match. He needed to end it quickly or else he feared that he would lose otherwise. Neji was suddenly startled when a hand grabbed his ankle. He was about to use jyuuken to seal the tenkestu of the hand when a great number of spikes rose from the ground (Doton Doryuusou – Earthen Rising Spears Technique) and stopped centimeters from the prodigy. Neji saw Naruto emerging from the ground in front of him and snarled once more. _

"_This is the second time I could have killed you but didn't. If you were an enemy, you would already be dead." Neji had a fierce look on his face, but didn't say anything. _

_He was trying to search for something to get out once more. However, the proctor had arrived by his side giving the victory to Naruto, much to the Hyuuga prodigy's fury. _

"_What? I haven't conceded yet." The proctor with the bandana snorted while the audience was busy clapping at the match._

"_You didn't have to. The only reason you're still alive is because you're a fellow shinobi of the leaf. If you were an enemy, you'd be dead. Victory goes to Uzumaki Naruto of the Leaf." Naruto actually remained there waiting for the final verdict before nodding and released his sharingan. He heard the clapping coming from the audience and slightly bowed in acknowledgement. The boy admitted being a bit embarrassed by such amount of praise, knowing that four years ago he was considered the village pariah. From the ninja's side, though, Naruto didn't have to worry. Those who applauded him meant every clap from the boy's strategy and fine use of ninjutsu. The ones who knew the brat were the loudest of them all. Asuma and Kakashi were very proud of how their charge handled the fight. None of Naruto's moves were wasted and he was on top of things since the start. _

_The Hokage was also impressed. As a user of both fire and earth techniques, he was proud of the boy for the technique's execution. Even the Kazekage praised the boy even if he was more focused on the sharingan._

_None of them had any doubts of a promotion. _

* * *

_**Flashback off**_

The fight was brutal and it surely demonstrated the rivalry between the sharingan and the byakugan towards defining Konoha's strongest dojutsu. Even if Naruto had won, it didn't mean that the sharingan was more powerful. In the end, both respected the other for their skills and prowess. Naruto even believed he could find a rival in Neji for improving himself. The other fights progressed as well, sadly Naruto's teammates both lost to Kiba and Shino. Chouji fought bravely against the Inuzuka, but the Akimichi ended up focusing all his strength on Kiba and forgot about Kiba's ningen Akamaru. Even so, the battle of straight taijutsu between two of the strongest battle clans in Konoha was fierce. If it wasn't for Akamaru, then Chouji would have won. However, since the dog is an Inuzuka's weapon, he got the credit for it and was promoted to chunnin. Naruto was sure that Chouji would definitely be promoted in the next exam as he had the skills for it.

When it came to Ino's fight against Shino, it wasn't as fierce as Chouji's, but not less dangerous.

Both Aburame and Yamanaka Clans preferred supplementary abilities with a very few exception focusing on close-range combat. Ino had her mind abilities while Shino's bugs were just as deadly. In the end, Shino managed to fool Ino into believing that she was facing against the real deal when in fact was bunshin. She had used the shintenshin no jutsu on the bunshin, allowing Shino ample time to come close to her position and suck her chakra dry. In the end, even if he wasn't thrilled to see his teammates lose, he saw merit in both Kiba and Shino's promotion. They fought with strategy like a true shinobi, even if Kiba acted a bit rash at times. After that was done, Homura finished the meeting with the other genins of Naruto's generation.

"Because of the promotion, the teams will be reformed. Akimichi Chouji and Yamanaka Ino will join Nara Shikamaru under the tutelage of Sarutobi Asuma. They will form the next Ino-Shika-Cho team. Under Yuhii Kurenai's tutelage, Kurama Yakumo and Haruno Sakura will join Hyuuga Hinata. Hatake Kakashi, from today on, will no longer be responsible for a genin team. Thus, he will be performing high level assignments for the village together with other jounin." Everyone expected Kakashi to protest a bit, but he just kept reading his orange book responding to council with a mere nod in recognition to his orders. Actually, the man was a bit sad to have lost his team, but under the circumstances, the type of knowledge he could offer was limited to full front battle. These teams will be training for specialized missions, thus requiring specialized level of training.

As soon as the meeting came to an end, the shinobi in the room were leaving the room. However, only Naruto Kakashi and Jiraiya stood in front of the council.

Kakashi was about to leave when he saw that his little brother wasn't moving. He guessed that something was on his mind and that he wished to speak to the council about it. Despite his usual aloof behavior towards most situations, Kakashi was deeply contemplating whether or not Naruto was making the right decision in speaking anything to these old timers. Jiraiya was staying because he was going to ask for the blond chunnin's presence. The council members were talking by themselves when they realized that the blond chunnin was standing there, obviously wishing to talk about something. Naruto, realizing that he had their attention, cleared his throat.

"Ah, excuse me honorable council members, but I was wondering if could ask for a favor." Both Homura and Koharu raised their eyebrows at this, but allowed the boy to speak. Danzou was like a statue in this regard, not moving even to acknowledge the boy's presence. However, when Naruto went forward with his request, everyone in the room looked at the boy, wondering why he wanted that. "I would like to have access to the Uchiha Clan's ninjutsu library, if I may."

Both Kakashi and Jiraiya were surprised at the question; Kakashi most of all, because of what Itachi had told him. Naruto wanted to improve himself by gaining access to the Uchiha Clan's library. An ingenious assessment for sure, but Kakashi doubted he would gain clearance for something like that, without revealing that he had met with Itachi. He knew that Naruto wouldn't do that, since he hadn't done so when the time was right. If he had, the Hokage would have been made aware instantly. It was Koharu who came with a simple yet to the point question.

"Why?"

"I wish access to their scrolls on fire manipulation to better improve my own. I've already studied everything there is to know about the subject at the library and I know for a fact that when someone is promoted to chunnin, he or she gains access to higher level techniques. Also, since the last member of the Uchiha Clan is now dead, the clan's assets are held by the council, including the amount of knowledge gathered by them throughout their existence." As expected, the council seemed reluctant to comply with the request. Homura and Koharu had the word 'denied' in their minds as soon as they heard the request. However, they also believed how much it would benefit Naruto's power if he had access to the scrolls. Danzou for his part smirked at the request and applauded the boy in his mind. He wanted nothing but to train the boy in the past and he would do anything in his power to make sure that Konoha's weapon would receive the power he needed. That being said, he used his authority and spoke on the council's behalf.

"Chunnin Uzumaki Naruto, you can have access to the library, so long as you are always accompanied by a jounin official by your side." Kakashi could have sworn that this last part was aimed for him.

Homura and Koharu looked troubled at Danzou, but the man didn't even acknowledge.

"Thank you." Naruto bowed in respect, before leaving the room followed by Kakashi. Jiraiya had already left the room with a smile on his face as he too understood the brat's goal.

Being privy to sensitive information as well, he knew why Naruto wished to better improve himself.

* * *

**===Outside the council room===**

Once outside the council room, Naruto and Kakashi were discussing something when Jiraiya came in.

"That was a bold move gaki, you have guts I can tell you that. In fact I believe it's the first time those buffoons ever lifted a finger for anyone other than themselves." Kakashi, seeing his student's confused expression, smiled and landed a hand on the kid's shoulder.

"Naruto, this is one of the Sannin Jiraiya-sama." The now promoted chunnin had widened his eyes for a moment, before nodding at both adults.

"Thanks Jiraiya-sama." The pervert smirked at the respect.

"So gaki, as you just heard in there, I will be leaving tomorrow morning to search for my ex-teammate Tsunade and convince her to become the next Hokage. You're welcome to come along if you wish to. They said I could take anyone with me if I so wish. Kakashi here told me you have fire and earth affinity like me. Since you'll be studying fire from the Uchiha, we can focus on your earth knowledge and improve that as well." Naruto had to resist his urge to accept immediately. He was about to have access to high level fire manipulation techniques, but to reach his goal of using lava techniques; he needed to perfect his earth technique just as much. Training under a sannin was the perfect opportunity.

"I'd like that, Jiraiya-sama, but I wouldn't want to be in your way of searching for Tsunade-sama."

"Nonsense kid…that woman is so damn slippery that it will take me some time to find her. I can help you train along the way, you know, provided that we don't run into some _pleasant _company." Naruto could see the lecherous grin on the man's face and instantly remembered the same look on his big brother's, before he began dating Kasumi-chan. Now that he had a chance to look at it, it was the same image and it was pretty disturbing. Kakashi for his turn looked at the man who had written his precious and smirked. Jiraiya was able to corrupt the Yondaime Hokage's mind with his perverted art and he managed to corrupt Kakashi as well. However, Naruto was a different scenario. The amount of female interaction Naruto had so far was with sparring with his teammate Ino and facing Yakumo in combat. The scarecrow jounin wasn't much aware of Naruto's interaction with Itsuko, though.

"Well, ok then. Where do we meet tomorrow?" Naruto asked, awakening Jiraiya from his daydreaming.

"Meet me on top of the Hokage's Building at nine and we'll be gone, kid. Now, I believe its high time for me to conduct my research. See you tomorrow." Jiraiya vanished leaving Naruto and Kakashi alone.

"He is a bit weird, huh." Naruto said as he looked up to see Kakashi smiling at him.

"Yeah, he is. Now, let's go to the Uchiha Compound Naruto. I don't believe you'll be able to look at everything tonight, though."

Naruto smirked at that, as they vanished in a shunshin.

* * *

**===The Uchiha Compound===**

As soon as they entered inside the compound, they were bombarded by an oppressive air that made Naruto a bit uneasy with his request. Images from his nightmares appeared in Naruto's mind of Uchiha Itachi killing everyone in the courtyard. In Kakashi's eyes, the compound was thoroughly cleaned even if abandoned. In Naruto's, though, he was standing on a pool filled of blood. Screams would echo in his ear and curses were thrown at the traitorous Uchiha before said man sliced their throats with no expression whatsoever in his face. There wasn't enjoyment in his face, just a test to measure his capabilities. He could see Itachi's eyes like a robot performing what he was programmed to do.

It was what intrigued Naruto most of all.

Naruto came to learn that the images in his brain came with the eyes and thus it wasn't his memory. He couldn't suffer for something that didn't happen to him, even if it appeared so real. Naruto was startled to feel a comforting hand on his shoulder and turned to meet Kakashi's face. An instant later, the images and sound were gone and he now saw and heard just like Kakashi. Taking a deep breathing, he nodded to his big brother in appreciation before walking towards a small building located next to the compound entrance. Once inside, the seals on the wall came to life illuminating the surprisingly spacious room filled with rows and rows of scrolls. Naruto was about to walk through the rows when he heard Kakashi speak from behind.

"This library is special Naruto. The Uchiha Clan had taken specific measures to secure that its knowledge would be privy to the clan and only the clan. With that being said, you must use the sharingan to verify the contents." Naruto looked at his brother and lifted an eyebrow at the information. If that was true, then Kakashi would be able to look at it as well. Being the observant that he was, Kakashi saw that Naruto was looking at Kakashi's covered eye. "You're probably wondering if I can see as well, huh because of my only sharingan eye? The answer is yes, though not to the full extent as you can. I don't know why, but the information isn't complete.

_**(Author Note: The concept here is similar to the hidden info on the Uchiha Clan's Shrine (Forgot the name). With the normal sharingan, there are some readable parts, but only with the mangenkyou sharingan and then the rinnegan, can one read the entire content of what's written). **_

"Okay but not every Uchiha managed to awaken the doujutsu." Kakashi nodded at that as well.

"The Uchiha Clan's power was only mirrored by how much they worshipped the sharingan. In the clan's eyes, those who had awakened the sharingan were considered the elite among the clan. As such, only these selected members were allowed in this library. You must know Naruto that many shinobi, even from Konoha, hated the Uchiha Clan, because of this way of thinking. The accursed doujutsu, as it became popularly known, kind of facilitated the shinobi's training, let's put it like that. While others struggled to learn new techniques or improve the already existing ones, the sharingan as you know literally copy a jutsu by seeing only once. This led to the Uchiha Clan members, at least those who had awakened the eye, to become arrogant in their ways believing them to be stronger, faster or simply more skilled than the rest that did not possess any doujutsu. Many clan members were killed because of this."

Naruto listened through everything and couldn't help but agree with said feeling of arrogance. Even having one himself, the boy believed that without training his ass off, he wouldn't be as strong as he wanted to be.

Once he activated his sharingan, he began to see which roll he should go to; the roll with the kanji for fire on top of it. Of course, this library contained information on pretty much everything ninja related gathered since the first member of the family. Thus, it had information of more than just fire techniques. However, it wasn't Naruto's intention to simply engrave all the knowledge into his brain. He wanted only fire techniques and earth based ones, which he would be training with a sannin tomorrow as well. Immediately summoning twenty kage bunshins, Naruto set to work in reading the contents about fire manipulation and even A to S-ranked fire techniques.

Kakashi was overseeing everything with a smile on his face. When Naruto was committed to a goal, he wouldn't stop until it was complete; which was a shame considering that he would have to stay there with the boy throughout the night. Well, at least now that he was here, he could have some time for himself, aka reading his old orange book. As he opened the book, Kakashi's shoulder was purely relaxed as he imagined him and Kasumi doing some sex positions.

He didn't even register the fact that twenty Narutos were looking at the man and sighed all at the exact same time.

It was the very same expression that Naruto saw in Jiraiya's face.

* * *

**===Next day===**

The next day, Naruto left his apartment to meet up with Jiraiya for their trip. He had little sleep since he was up all night at the Uchiha Clan's library and using his sharingan the entire time.

The information on S-ranked fire techniques were safely stored in a medium sized scroll that was hidden inside a small scroll which would only be opened by Naruto's blood. This way, even if the scroll was stolen, no one would have access to the contents. Also, because of this, Naruto was allowed by Kakashi to take the scroll with him on his first chunnin assignment together with the Sannin Jiraiya. The chunnin was ecstatic about this, because of the short amount of info that he had already studied. He had learned that the entire knowledge of high level fire manipulation, higher than A-ranked, was almost one hundred percent created by Uchiha Madara, the man who founded Konoha together with the Shodaime Hokage.

Aside from Madara, the only Uchiha who was able to match S-ranked fire techniques was Madara's brother Izuna.

Even if Naruto wasn't considered an Uchiha, he had established a mantra to be the third shinobi capable of performing these techniques. For instance, there was one technique listed there that made Naruto salivate in excitement. It was one of Madara's creation called _Katon Gouka Mekkyaku_ (Fire Release Great Fire Majestic Removal Technique) and it consisted of exhaling a wide spread wall of fire towards an opponent or a group of opponents. Naruto also saw a nice jutsu variation for white flames manipulation called Karyuu Endan. This one was created by the Sandaime Hokage, but somehow it was at the Uchiha Clan's library. Naruto ventured a guess as to a suitable explanation. One high level Uchiha once saw the technique and copied it. Even so, the chunnin doubted that any Uchiha would be able to defeat the Sandaime Hokage. The old man was only defeated by Orochimaru because the man had used a strange technique that brought both the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokage to aid him. If not, Orochimaru would have lost.

Naruto had also learned an extremely taxing fire manipulation exercise consisted of increasing the fire potency using just chakra.

Aside from that, Naruto would be training his doton techniques with Jiraiya of the Sannin. He could already feel his plan towards using magma techniques quite soon. The chunnin yawned a bit as he walked towards the place where Jiraiya said he would be waiting. When he was close to the location, he saw Itsuko standing on top of a tree, hidden in plain sight and shunshined to her place. He was standing just like her, hidden as they got to talk.

"You needed to talk to me, Naruto?" Normally, he would just nod at her direction since she was on duty.

"Sorry about blowing your cover, I just wanted to let you know that I'll be going on a mission now." He heard a snort coming from behind the mask and lifted an eyebrow.

"I already know about it silly. I'm an Anbu remember." Naruto smiled at that and nodded. Of course, she would be privy to sensitive information such as searching for a new Hokage.

"Okay then, see ya when I get back." Itsuko nodded, before Naruto vanished leaving the woman alone in the shadows once more.

'_Silly one indeed' Itsuko thought, not bothering to mention that she didn't have access to __every__ mission assignment. With little to do, seeing as her squad was performing a routine check in the village, Itsuko began to recollect her battles together with the recently promoted chunnin. Naruto managed to conduct himself in battle similarly to a few of her peers in Anbu and it surprised her in a positive way. She was counting on having to save him a couple of times, but there was one occasion when he was the one that covered her. If anything, his skills growth will certainly be interesting to watch. _

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

It didn't take longer for the newly promoted chunnin to arrive at his destination. Jiraiya smirked at the boy, silently releasing a sigh in relief since he apparently didn't take after Kakashi's tardiness.

The two exchanged a few words in greeting, before they marched towards the village gates and then towards whatever place the Godaime Hokage was at the moment.

* * *

**Author Note**

Ok that's it for the time being.

Tell me what you think about it? Good, nice, excellent, bad, terrible, you'll be the judge.

Let me get to work now.


	14. Road Trip

**Author Note**

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes.

First of all, I wish to spend some words here and comment about the recent twist in the manga. For those who don't want to read it, just go straight to the chapter. Well, Tobi's identity is Obito (congratulations for those who guessed it right, by the way). Now, though, we learned that he was in direct contact with Uchiha Madara and another one named Uchiha Gaeshi. Seriously, though, there are a bunch of inconsistencies. For instance, Madara only appeared because Kabuto revived the guy. His body was in his possession the entire time, perhaps even Orochimaru had it before. So, exactly, how is it that Obito met Madara? The answer perhaps relies on the consequences of Madara and Hashirama's battle. Did he really win against Madara? The story seems to go all the way back to the rivalry between the Rikudou Sennin's sons, which leads to believe that Sasuke may show up any time now and interfere in Madara's battle.

Speaking of Sasuke, he left with Orochimaru to search for someone who knows what he's looking for; another Uchiha perhaps. It could be Madara, Obito or Gaeshi. Last but not least, I wonder sometimes about Itachi, even the man is long gone by now. Did he know that the one he perceived as Madara was in fact Obito impersonating the Uchiha clan's founder? Also, who was it that helped him kill the entire Uchiha Clan? Madara or Obito? So many inconsistencies that my head is hurting now.

Let's stick to fan fiction for now.

Last chapter, in Cursed Eyes, I came up with a different type of writing, using a great number of flashbacks to pinpoint the most important parts of the invasion. This way, I was able to focus on the consequences as well, saving one entire chapter worth of content (not to mention the time people would wait for the second chapter!). After Naruto was promoted to chunnin, he requested access to the Uchiha Clan's secret jutsu library to increase his fire manipulation training as well as use higher level fire techniques. After copying the entire content, he met Jiraiya at the gates to find Tsunade and bring her back to the village to become the Godaime Hokage.

* * *

**Chapter 14 – Road Trip**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

No sooner had the trip started, then Naruto understood the difference that training under one of the Sannin was compared to the others before him.

After each ten miles covered in the trip, Jiraiya would stop Naruto and they would spar and since Naruto had the sharingan, Jiraiya wasn't holding back his strength any, at least as far as Naruto was concerned. He just didn't know the full extent of a sannin's power to really know if the man is going all out. Naruto's eyes managed to follow the sannin's movements, however by the time his body began to respond, the sannin was already in front of him, delivering one nasty strike after the other. At first, Naruto was nothing more than a punching bag to the sannin, but eventually the boy managed to at least evade the strikes. To him, it was considered frustrating, but to the sannin, it was no doubt impressive.

Even if the credit was due to the sharingan, Jiraiya was impressed with how quick the boy moved. By his estimates, Naruto could keep up with most high level chunnin and even low level jounin easily. He doubted that the brat could keep up with an elite jounin now, but the boy was young and would match Kakashi's speed in two years or maybe less than that, if he practiced constantly. Naruto even got to show his kenjutsu skills to the sannin, who despite not favoring the use of the weapon much, had extensive knowledge in fighting against experienced sword users in the past. He knew from Kakashi that Naruto was being tutored by an Anbu swordsman every day and it really showed. The kid's form was flawless as far as he could tell. Jiraiya was able to spot a few openings here and there because of his experience, but he had to work a bit.

It all changed for the better once the young chunnin grabbed the smaller sword and used it together with the other.

Jiraiya had yet to focus on other materials aside from close range fighting, but he immediately approved the kid's ability in the field. So far, Jiraiya kept the ninjutsu training for himself as Naruto had his work cut out for him about the element of fire. Uchiha Madara was considered the strongest fire user of all time, so it's understandable that the material that he collected over the years was staggering. The man's control over fire was incontestable and to make matters worse, he even carried a battle fan that when used, added gusts of wind to his already dangerous fire techniques. The only man who was a match for Madara was the Shodaime Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Often times, the pervert sannin wondered if perhaps his sensei or even his student would be able to beat the guy. Right now, as they walked, Naruto was busy reading the scroll on advanced fire manipulation.

His attention was solely focused on the scroll much to the sannin's ire. It'd been two days already since they'd left and the only thing they managed to cover or at least talk about was training. Even if improving his skills was important, Jiraiya was hoping to bestow upon Naruto the importance of relaxing once in a while. Otherwise, Naruto's mind wouldn't take the strain of the usual shinobi life. Jiraiya's attention was turned to the heavy smoke that suddenly surrounded the boy, before the usual number of bunshin appeared. It was the same yesterday. Naruto would study the material and then summon a group of bunshin to put the theory into practice.

"What are they going to do now, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked as they saw the clones going somewhere.

"Same as yesterday, though this time a bit different. Yesterday, they all trained in fire manipulation separately. Now, they will be forming pairs. One will create any fire technique and the other will use fire manipulation to increase the flame. According to the material, Madara used to do this with a fireplace. He would manipulate the fire and increase its power, making small fire pillars. He would then exhaust his entire chakra supply by keeping it powered up. Eventually, my control over fire will increase and then I'll be able to move on to Madara's techniques." Jiraiya nodded with a smile on his face. The kid at least demonstrated enthusiasm when he trained, so it wasn't all that bad, considering. He was afraid that Naruto was putting too much pressure on himself, but it appeared that the kid was enjoying.

"Okay and what will the original be doing while the clones train?"

"I was wondering if we could begin to cover earth chakra manipulation training in the mean time." The sannin cackled a bit. Any jounin, scratch that, any kage level ninja would be on the ground now trying to save some chakra after the amount of shadow clones. Naruto had enough to even get some chakra training on his own. He did promise to improve the kid's earth techniques, though a part of him wondered why the need to train both affinities equally. As far as he knew, Naruto's main affinity was fire and earth was merely secondary. He shrugged, though. One must always seek to improve, no matter the circumstances.

"Okay kid, I'll teach you a nice technique that you can use and it's great for training in earth manipulation. It's called **Doton Yomi Numa** (Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld Technique). It is considered close range, but it can be used to trap an opponent. With it, I can summon a vast pool of mud. If used correctly, the chances of escape are almost impossible. It's good for training, because you must turn the earth into mud instantly or else you can't trap your enemy inside. Aside from that, you must cover a considerable area, watch me." Jiraiya urged Naruto to stand behind him while he went through the hands seals. He saw that Naruto's sharingan was activated, so the kid would learn the technique much quicker.

As soon as he finished the technique, Naruto was surprised to see a considerable swamp form in less than a second.

"Once you perform the technique, you must undo it as well, but this time you manipulate your chakra to harden the mud until it becomes land once more." Naruto nodded as he started looking at the swamp in front of him with analytical eyes and complete focus. Jiraiya heard from Kakashi that the kid used to behave like this when he wanted to learn a new technique. It was interesting to see a kid focused on the job like Naruto was now. Aside from the sharingan eye, Jiraiya couldn't help but picture his old student with the same level of focus. As he saw Naruto practicing both in turning the soil into mud and then backwards, Jiraiya smiled at the memory of his student.

_Perhaps I could give him your technique as well, Minato. I know you would have wanted that._

While looking at his next student, Jiraiya was ragging his brains on what to teach the kid besides the earth technique and the rasengan. Fuuinjutsu was a possibility, but it would take too long for the brat to learn the theory behind the art of seals. Genjutsu was out of the question. First of all, Jiraiya's skills in the art of illusions are limited to breaking them. He relied on the toads for the casting part. Besides, with the sharingan, the kid was well served. A sudden feeling of earth trembling made both Jiraiya and the original Naruto turn to the direction where the clones were practicing. Jiraiya turned to the original one asking if something happened, only for Naruto to face palm.

"One of the clones thought it was a great idea to compete over whose fireball was stronger. That one dispelled at least five clones with this little stunt."

The pervert smiled and turned to the original one as he kept practicing the earth technique with vigor. It was amazing how fast the kid was able to at least perform the technique. Right now, it wasn't deep enough or wide enough for that matter. However, the earth was immediately transformed into mud and when Naruto moved to harden the mud; it was done without much trouble. Even if the kid had the sharingan, he wouldn't be able to use the technique like an earth user. Jiraiya wasn't privy to the full extent of Naruto's training, just knowing it from Asuma and Kakashi when they tutored the boy. However, both of the elite jounin knew that Naruto trained on his own more than the amount he trained under their guidance.

"Okay Naruto, that's enough for now. We'll train more when we stop the next time or else we won't get to find my teammate." The chunnin looked like he wanted to protest, but accepted.

"Right…"

He dismissed the clones that were training his fire chakra manipulation one by one with his eyes closed as he adjusted the amount of experience gathered by the clones. The procedure took two minutes. When he opened his eyes once more, Naruto turned to the opposite side and started a series of hand seals, molding half the amount of chakra needed for this specific technique. The scroll said that when you reached ninjutsu expertise, you don't need to use a great load of chakra to use a technique. Gathering an incredible amount of air inside his lungs, Naruto placed his right hand in front of his mouth in order to better direct the flames.

**Katon Kaen no Arashi** (Fire Release: Fire Storm Technique)

Constantly releasing a thin layer of fire, Naruto manipulated the stream until it took the shape of a spiral going up. After forming the twister shape, Naruto began to play with it as long as he had air inside his lungs to convert into fire chakra. He extended the reach a bit; circled around a specific location, possibly using it to trap someone. When his lungs started to hurt because of the lack of oxygen, he released the technique with a proud smile on his face. With the clone training, he managed to reduce the amount of chakra wasted for a high level technique. He then walked close to Jiraiya as they slowly reached a town called Crater City where Jiraiya was informed that Tsunade might be now.

* * *

**===In Crater City===**

Once they passed the city gates, Naruto was visibly surprised how crowded the city actually was.

As he walked, though, he felt something strange compared to Konoha. He wasn't used to being ignored like this, after all, which was expected when no one knew who you are. The difference was that while here he was nothing but a stranger, in Konoha he was perhaps more famous than the Hokage himself. It was a welcomed feeling, Naruto mused as he followed Jiraiya around the place. After fifteen minutes doing nothing but walking, Jiraiya stopped and looked at the kid chunnin behind him. He needed to talk to his contact and fetch some new material for something special he was about to train the kid in.

"You can go and do some sightseeing gaki, I have to go meet my contact here. Why don't you choose a hotel for the night?"

Jiraiya didn't even wait for a response as he left their location with a giddy expression on his face. Naruto had enough knowledge on the guy to know where he was heading right now. He sighed in dismay at his teacher for the time being while looking around. Aside from finding a place for lunch, Naruto admitted not wanting to look around much. He chose a simple ramen venue that was close to him and then began to search town for a hotel. A part of him wondered how the perverted sannin would know which hotel he had chosen, but another part of him, the most dominant one, shrugged that thought aside. It wasn't his problem, but Jiraiya's. After leaving two hotels, Naruto found one that actually offered something more than merely a room for him to stay. Once inside his room and after placing his swords on top of the bed, Naruto figured it was time he tried reaching the fox inside his stomach. It was the first time he actually went through with it, so Naruto was feeling at little nervous about meeting the beast.

Closing his eyes, the blond kneeled on the ground and started to remember what people said to him about meditation.

It actually took him a while, but eventually Naruto opened his eyes only to see he wasn't inside the hotel room anymore, but some different place entirely. It looked like a maze of some kind with red and blue pipes covering the walls. His feet were wet and he could feel the cold temperature as if it was real. Aside from everything, Naruto could hear a strange and yet unsettling whisper caused by a gentle wind breeze. The noise was constant but Naruto could sometimes hear different sounds as if the wind itself decided to whisper words into his ear. It was quite unnerving indeed as he felt that someone was right behind him yet he was alone. Eventually, his legs started to move almost as if someone was controlling his movements. His mind didn't have a certain destination to go nor was very keen on searching for the right way. Naruto knew he was moving, yet he found that he couldn't stop his legs from moving even if he didn't want to.

Five minutes later, Naruto took a right turn and saw a bright white light at the end of the corridor. Like before, his legs carried him towards the light.

As soon as he entered the place, Naruto's eyes were suddenly widened as it registered the change of scenery. The room was wide, wider than the thin corridors he has walked in so far. The walls were covered with seals, but what surprised the blond more was the metal bars in front of him. It reached all the way to the top and easily reached fifty meters high. Unconsciously, the boy shivered in fear as something in the back of his mind knew just who was behind the bars. To make matters worse all Naruto could see behind bars was darkness. He stopped in the middle of the room, bravely looking towards the shadow behind the metal bars, waiting for something to come out of it. Naruto immediately stopped his breathing as he heard a deep voice reach his ears.

"**So my container decided to pay me a visit; how interesting." **As if on cue, giant red eyes appeared at the top of the room looking at the kid in the middle of the room as if Naruto was nothing more than an ant.

Kyuubi even smiled at Naruto showing every detail behind his threatening set of sharp teeth. The creature doubted that he needed to show his entire image to scare the kid. Even if it was successful as he could sense Naruto's fear, the demon found it interesting that his container was staring at the fox eye to eye. That alone spoke a lot about Naruto's guts. However, Kyuubi wasn't even considering the possibility of thinking about complementing the kid for his bravery. It had its pride after all. Naruto, for his part, found that his voice was leaving him for a moment. His breathing was hard and his body couldn't stop trembling. In all fairness, he was behaving just like everyone who met the strongest tailed beast demon who managed to destroy half of Konoha with only one swing of its tails. He remembered what he wished to do by coming here and that gave him strength to utter a couple of words to the demon.

"I….I wanted to come here and ask for your help when necessary."

"**My help, you say? Interesting, here I thought you'd come here and demand it of me. Please enlighten me as to why I should aid you in your endeavor?" **Naruto wasn't expecting to come here and get it right away.

"Ever since I received Uchiha Sasuke's eyes, my life has taken a tremendous shift. I train every chance I got to become strong and protect those I care for. However, no matter how much training, I'm still too far from ever matching _him." _Before Naruto could speak further, he heard the beast speak.

"**When you say him, you mean Uchiha Itachi?"**the fox let out an amused laughter at Naruto's now perplexed expression. **"What? Surprised are you? In here, I can hear your thoughts as if you were talking directly to me.** **As such, there isn't a secret you wish to keep that won't inevitably come to my ears. Your nightmares that happen in correlation to Uchiha Sasuke's memories; the ill-treatment given to you by the very same people you've sworn to protect. I have to admit, though, your goals are quite intriguing. To believe that someone can be so bold as to simply incorporate an elemental bloodline by training both elements together while hoping that one day some miracle happens that allow you to use yoton (lava release) ninjutsu."**

Naruto was listening to every word and couldn't help but feel that he was being humiliated by each spoken word. It was just hard to imagine the creature being so talkative. However…

"You're changing the subject…" the Fox could only smile at the comment.

"**Quite right. Once more, you amuse me, my container. It has been quite a while since I last shared a conversation with someone. You request for my help when in peril, then. I shall accept your request, with one condition." **Naruto's silence urged the beast to continue. **"This conversation is most entertaining and I wish to have it more often. All I do ask of you is to come and visit me once in a while. It gets really bored just seating here." **Naruto doubted that it would be that simple, but nodded.

"I appreciate it. Now, you were saying about my futile attempts of using elemental bloodline. There are files in Konoha of key shinobi in all the elemental nations that are able of utilizing lava release; the Yonbi Jinchuuriki being one of them. I know that those that have elemental bloodlines happen to possess full mastery over the natural elements that create the elemental bloodline. Even if it's impossible, I'll keep trying." Naruto's gaze was more firm now and the fox took his time in analyzing the kid before him.

"**While I'll admit that your theory is acceptable and the fact that chakra usage is constantly evolved, the odds of you managing lava release is almost zero. Even if you manage to unite the elements using two consecutive attacks, like your Sandaime Hokage, is only a frail comparison to the skill displayed by the Yonbi. For now, I'd recommend you to keep up with your training as both fire and earth are powerful elements on their own, one being mostly offensive and the other granting you more diverse ninjutsu use while in the battlefield. Also, your eyes are also something you should focus your training as the sharingan is another tool at your disposal." **Kyuubi didn't bother mentioning Madara's name at least not for now. **"The three tome sharingan is not the last phase, but merely the third. Your enemy Uchiha Itachi, I believe his name was, has the fourth evolution called Mangenkyou Sharingan. There are two ways of reaching this level and I dare assume that he took the fastest and easiest one of all."**

Naruto found himself even more surprised to hear advice from the fox about his eyes.

"How do you know so much about the sharingan?"

"**I have simply lost count on the hundreds of years since my birth. There isn't much out there that I do not know about. My knowledge was bestowed upon me by my creator and since then, I have been among you humans learning and acquiring precious knowledge. As such, I came to know that the list of dojutsu is limited to approximately four. Two of them you already know being the Hyuuga Clan's Byakugan and your sharingan. Now, as I was saying…in order for an Uchiha to reach the Mangenkyou Sharingan, he or she must go through two different paths. One of them, which I believe Uchiha Itachi has taken, is to murder your most precious person." **Naruto immediately paled at that information. It wasn't clear yet if the man acquired the Mangenkyou before or after killing his family.

"You mentioned this method as the easiest one; I can't imagine what the other method is."

"**The second method to acquire the Mangenkyou was only possible for two men in history, Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna. They acquired it through unbelievable training regimens and being constantly placed in life or death situations. This for sure is harder than the first method, since it's not one hundred percent effective. In all honesty, neither Madara nor his brother Izuna knew about this before their eyes evolved. The second method is thus the hardest one, but from the look in your eyes, you'd prefer the second one, I assume." **

Naruto dared snort at the beast's comment. If Kyuubi could read his mind, then it would know that killing one's most precious person for power is inhumane.

"Of course, I prefer the second one. How can one simply kill his most precious person just for power? I'll get strong by myself and I'll train until I drop unconscious." Kyuubi nodded at the kid. He had a fierce spirit that's for sure.

"**Then I believe you're wasting precious time talking to me. You've managed to satisfy my condition for the time being". **Naruto nodded and closed his eyes before opening them, noticing that he was back inside his hotel room. His conversation with the fox was surprisingly positive. Never in a million years would he believe the fox to simply wish to share a conversation with him. Naruto had a half a mind to go back and ask the reason behind the fox attacking the village, but thought against it. It would be like wishing that he wasn't near the Uchiha compound when Itachi killed his family. That was the past and now was the present and future. Naruto knew that he counted on the fox to help him improve.

Naruto was alerted by the sound of someone knocking on the door and got up, thinking it was his sensei searching for him.

As soon as he opened the door, though, Naruto was surprised as hell when he was face to face with the only man he knew that had the sharingan. Naruto even activated his eyes as he stepped outside his room. Once outside, the chunnin tried without success not to be surprised by a second person wearing the same outfit as Itachi's. The boy immediately noticed the spike in the man's chakra supply, perhaps even surpassing his own in size. If there was one time Naruto cursed his perverted sannin was now as he was alone against possibly two S-ranked criminals. Despite it all, he stood his ground managing to create a suitable distance from his enemies, while at the same time wondering why they even allowed him free movement.

"Fighting is futile Naruto-kun, you are going to come with us now." Naruto heard Itachi's partner that looked like a shark snort with a smirk on his face.

"Ne Itachi, how is it that this brat has the same eyes as yours? I didn't know he was your relative."

Both sharingan users stayed silent at the question. Naruto for his turn considered his options and realized with complete certainty that he was helpeless. His chance was for Jiraiya to appear and even the odds a bit, but he wasn't that lucky. Taking a moment to study Itachi's partner, the Konoha chunnin now understood just what Itachi was telling him about when he appeared in Konoha. The danger only intensified seeing as Naruto knew very little about this foe or what he could do. The blond was running out of options when an idea suddenly clicked. It would be the first time he ever used it, but he knew of some allies that he could call to help him and this precise technique happens to demand a vast quantity of chakra, which means that Jiraiya would sense it. Quickly sacrificing some blood, Naruto passed it on the summon's mark on his arm, before going through the hand signs. He managed to smash both hands on the ground, before the hallway erupted in heavy smoke.

Once the smoke settled down, in front of Naruto appeared two fierce looking tigers, one being the same that Naruto met with at Snow Country. The other one was yellow with white stripes; its choice of clothes defining his choice of fighting style. This one wore a black helmet on its head followed by a body armor of same color, leaving only its nails unprotected. Both were growling at the Akatsuki shinobi as if they knew who or what the threat was without their summoner's command. Itachi's partner Kisame snorted at the appearance.

"Huh, summoning these kitties won't help you brat. I believe it's time for me to take off your limbs. This way, you won't…." Itachi immediately noticed that something was wrong with Kisame. His body was trembling.

Looking at the other one, he was mesmerized by the yellow one's speed and agility. He was aiming for Kisame, but Itachi released a couple of kunai, stopping the projectile. The Uchiha suddenly felt his own chakra network being invaded by a powerful genjutsu the likes of which could actually compare to his own. Nevertheless, it didn't take long for Itachi to break off the illusion and protect his partner. Naruto took the opportunity and began two separate techniques, hoping to stall long enough.

**Doton Doryuu Taiga** (Earth Release: Mud River Technique)

**Katon Dai Endan** (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)

The river of mud that passed under them made them loose their foot and since Itachi was busy dispelling the genjutsu, he had to move quickly to save his partner. Kisame's only weakness was genjutsu because of his vast chakra reserves. The tigers had already backed off for the time being as they saw the jutsus taking place. Naruto's fire jutsu was avoided by Itachi who took advantage of the mud beneath their feet and used an earth technique that he copied once. The earth barrier allowed him time to snap Kisame out of the genjutsu. The earth barrier was then smashed to pieces by Kisame's sword and by the look on the man's face, he was beyond pissed. He charged straight for Naruto, while dodging both of Naruto's summons. As soon as he was within striking distance, however, his sword was suddenly blocked by a red toad, surprising Itachi as Jiraiya of the Sannin have appeared with the woman they used as decoy to lure him away.

"Oh it seems I arrived in the nick of time, huh. You two thought you could trick the gallant Jiraiya!" Naruto looked up from his position and breathed in relief.

Itachi's expression betrayed nothing as he merely stared at the sannin.

"Kisame, we're leaving…" Kisame made a face at his partner but he knew not to mess with the elder Uchiha. They turned and started to run.

"Oh none of you are going anywhere." Jiraiya smirked as he went through hand signals, before slamming both hands on the ground. Everyone in the hallway tensed as the walls and floor were transformed into a soft malleable organ. Not wasting time, Jiraiya manipulated what appeared to be tentacles coming out of the floor towards the enemies, but Kisame's sword managed to block them. Jiraiya warned Naruto not to move an inch while the technique was active, to which both he and his tigers nodded, all of them equally impressed on how easily Jiraiya handled them. "There is no way out of this place, they can't get away." Jiraiya's smirk soon vanished as he saw Itachi making a turn and summoning some strange black flames, before making a hole outside and escape.

Apparently, they could get away.

The perverted sannin ended the summoning technique and walked towards the place where the black flames were. Frowning, Jiraiya kneeled on the ground and opened an empty scroll before drawing strange symbols. Naruto appeared close to the man, having already dismissed his summons for the time being. He had to promise them some meat next time, though. After Jiraiya finished drawing the symbols on the scroll, Naruto watched with mild interest while the pervert went through hand seals.

**Fuuka Houin** (Fire Sealing Technique)

Suddenly the black fire was sucked inside the scroll before a more pronounced kanji appeared inside the only free space on the scroll.

The pervert was up soon afterward and looked at his student with a small frown. Imagine his surprise when he saw two tigers protecting Naruto against Itachi and Kisame. He wondered why Asuma forgot to mention that Naruto already had a summoning contract. Now, the idea of passing on the toad contract to Naruto was out of the question, unfortunately. The two, teacher and student, decided to leave town first thing tomorrow morning and went back to the room inside. Once inside, the pervert decided it was best to tell Naruto about an organization named Akatsuki that was after the bijuu. Naruto listened quietly as he cross checked Jiraiya's information with what Itachi had told him on that day.

"You'll have to get strong kid and real fast. No sweat though. Tomorrow, since you already know the earth technique I showed you, I'll be teaching you a new technique, one that only a select few in the world can manage."

Naruto didn't show any fear at the threat against his life. He knew he needed all the strength he could get and starting tomorrow, he would increase his work load.

He wasn't kidding when he said to the Kyuubi that he would train until exhaustion came. He couldn't afford to do less than that. His life depended on it, after all.

* * *

**===With Itachi===**

Once they left Crater City, Itachi and Kisame were busy seating inside a small cave. Since Kisame wanted to get some sleep and dream about making the Kyuubi brat scream in pain, Itachi was on first watch.

Looking at his partner's sleeping form, the Uchiha could have easily killed the man without anyone witnessing. However, in doing so, he would risk his mission to stop Akatsuki from ever capturing the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. He took into account his knowledge of Konoha's defenses and volunteered to be the one who captured Naruto. This way, he didn't risk any of the others going after him. Even so, there will be times where Jiraiya won't come to rescue him and thus Itachi won't be able to use it as an excuse not to capture the blond chunnin. Naruto needed to be strong, stronger than he was now for sure. A smile threatened to appear, but none came. His stoic façade remained for too long for his face muscles to show even the slightest shift.

When Itachi first met Naruto, he wasn't that impressed with his development. This time, though, he definitely saw improvement.

His ninjutsu techniques were more precise and his sharingan wasn't able to detect any waste of chakra. Itachi now supposed that in little more than two years at this rate, Naruto would be on par with Kakashi's level perhaps even more if he increases the pace. Even without reaching the Mangenkyou version, an Uchiha's potential was limitless. Itachi, himself, was an Anbu Captain at the age of thirteen. Naruto was not only training under jounin Kakashi and Asuma but under Jiraiya of the Sannin as well. The boy was certainly on the way to become a fierce opponent and the new summons only improved Itachi's estimate on what type of monster Naruto will become in two years. Quickly summoning a crow, Itachi watched as the bird flew away, in order to follow Naruto's every move. This way, Itachi would be able to keep tabs on his skills' development.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

As soon as the sun came up, Naruto and Jiraiya were saying goodbye to Crater City, heading to the next town where Jiraiya's contact said that Tsunade was located right now.

Tanzaku Gai was considered a tourist town filled with nothing but brothels, casinos and bars. It made perfect sense to Jiraiya that Tsunade would choose to go there, considering that aside from the brothels, Tanzaku Gai was a paradise for someone whose only hobby these days was heavy drinking and heavy gambling. As usual, Naruto had created his fair share of clones to go train in ninjutsu and even ocular genjutsu, which surprised the sannin. The real one, though, was saving his time for the technique that Jiraiya told him about yesterday. Naruto admitted being excited at the prospect of learning a ninjutsu that only a handful was able to do. The fact that Jiraiya believed him capable surely raised his self esteem.

When they passed by a rather large tree, Jiraiya stopped and turned to his student. It was time after all.

"Okay Naruto, as I promised, I'll be teaching you a technique that only a select few ever managed. It's called the Rasengan." Jiraiya said, before he extended his hand and focused chakra before the swirl of chakra started forming on the palm of his hand. The blond was transfixed by the swirling energy before widening his eyes at the results. He wasn't aware of the possibility of compressing such a large amount of chakra in such a tiny ball of energy. Jiraiya smirked at the undivided attention and knew that the next bit of information would shock the kid even more. "This technique was one of the Yondaime Hokage's creations and is to this day greatly feared by those who not only got to witness but also survived." Naruto stopped breathing and even gagged a few times.

"The Yonda...the Yondaime created this. I'll be learning one of the Yondaime Hokage's techniques." Naruto didn't even care that he sounded way too eager now.

A chance like this comes once in a lifetime.

"I knew you'd be excited. Now, the method to learn the Rasengan is quite complex and it consists of three phases. I'll be teaching you the first one. When you finish it, I'll teach you the other two." Naruto nodded as Jiraiya had taken a small scroll, before releasing its content. When the smoke settled down, Naruto was at a loss as to why there was a box filled with water balloons in front of them. Jiraiya, however, beat his question and grabbed one of the balloons. "The first step, grasshopper, is to make the balloon explode using nothing but chakra manipulation, watch." Naruto's eyes were entirely focused on the balloon as Jiraiya began to manipulate the water inside with his chakra. In seconds, the balloon began to expand uncontrollably and explode right at his face, making him all wet, much to the pervert's laughter."

The look on Naruto's face was priceless and the sensei almost held his stomach while laughing uncontrollably.

"It wasn't funny damn it." Jiraiya was still laughing, though.

"Okay, get to work gaki. I shall give you a hint. You need to rotate the water inside the balloon using only chakra." Naruto nodded and grabbed the first balloon while Jiraiya moved towards the tree and took a seat. If he was right, the kid would take a long time just to master the first step, so it didn't hurt to take some rest. Neither of them noticed a black crow landing on top of the tree Jiraiya was using to rest which was watching Naruto's training. Seeing the chunnin's first attempts, Jiraiya considered it safe to close his eyes for a bit and rest. If his calculations were correct, he would wake up three hours later and Naruto wouldn't take the training any longer. The pervert thus dozed off for a while.

When he opened his eyes, he smiled upon seeing Naruto simply seating by his side.

"Are you giving up already gaki? It isn't like you." The chunnin smirked and showed the results of his efforts by taking one of the water balloons and mimicking Jiraiya's performance.

The pervert believed he was dreaming when he saw it.

"These eyes are quite something, plus I have trained in chakra control since I received them. I didn't manage it at first, though. So, what's the second stage?" Jiraiya scratched his head for a while, wondering how the hell this kid had managed to learn the first phase in only three hours. He guessed that the sharingan aided the kid a lot, but even so it should have taken the kid days. Taking out another scroll, this time a box of rubber balls appeared before Jiraiya took one and did the same thing, exploding the ball.

"The second phase is focused on strength, instead of rotation. There is no water inside, just rubber and compressed air. You must release in one go or else it will not burst, get to it I guess while we walk." Jiraiya was carrying the box while tossing one by one for Naruto to explode. This time, though, he could tell that the kid was having trouble as it was expected really. The Yondaime took three years to create it and he took a considerable time learning as well. Jiraiya's pride had just suffered a great blow. It was four hours later, when the sight of Tanzaku Town came into view. By that time, the rubber balls were almost gone and still Naruto couldn't explode them like Jiraiya did. He came close once before his tenketsu started to burn and he had to release it before time. Jiraiya was about to toss the last ball for Naruto to practice when they reached what appeared to be a destroyed building. Naruto had his sharingan active.

"I can see a lot of chakra residue in this place, sensei." Jiraiya nodded as he imagined the only person who could do this with only one punch.

"It seems she's indeed here. Let's search around town for a while. Here is the last ball." Naruto nodded and looked at the object of hell for a while. Jiraiya was busy studying the debris to speculate what happened. The chunnin's chakra was almost gone as he used it all attempting the first and second stage of the rasengan, not to mention the number of clones that were busy doing elemental manipulation. He closed his eyes for a second, while focusing on the remaining chakra he had at his disposal. He took a couple of breaths as this was his last attempt before Jiraiya had to buy more. He needed to do this to learn the third phase and master this offensive technique. Naruto imagined the repercussions of being able to use it in conjunction with the sharingan. Jiraiya explained that the attack consisted of charging at the enemy in a straight line. Thus, it gives the enemy ample time to dodge or even attack from the side, rendering the technique useless.

The tunnel vision could be dealt with anticipating the opponent's moves with his eyes.

He needed to master this as soon as possible. His tenketsu would burn like hell, but he went through his plan anyway. As soon as he opened his eyes, Naruto focused all his remaining chakra in one single burst. His arms started to tremble as his chakra pathways were being strained. The rubber ball began to span uncontrollably, before exploding. Naruto was sent on the ground because of the explosion. He was out of breath when Jiraiya appeared next to him again with the same shocked expression. Naruto's body was still trembling from lack of chakra, but he had a satisfied smile on his face, having mastered the second step in only a day. His lack of chakra wouldn't remain for long as he could feel the pool being replenished. The fox began its work by easing the pain on Naruto's chakra coils. Jiraiya looked at the kid while Naruto slowly got up. Naruto was still trying very desperately to breathe normally and his body was sweating and hurting all over the place. However, none of these mattered to him as he turned to the pervert.

"So what's the third step?"

Jiraiya couldn't help but notice the satisfied smirk Naruto had on his face as if he was doing a hobby.

"For your sake, I'll teach you tomorrow. You look like shit, gaki." Instead of searching for Tsunade right now, Jiraiya first went to leave Naruto inside the hotel room, this time leaving a toad with the kid just in case. Naruto was snoring no less than a minute after he was put into bed. Once that was out of the way, Jiraiya began to wander around town a bit to search for his teammate. His search ended in failure, however, as the woman was nowhere to be seen. He got inside a restaurant for some sake when his eyes spotted the woman a few tables to the west of the entrance. The woman in question also saw him, though and already cursed her bad luck while the pervert took a seat next to a short black haired woman wearing a purple kimono named Shizune.

"It's been a while, Tsunade-hime, it's good to see you."

By the look on her face, though, the feeling wasn't mutual.

* * *

**Author Note**

Ok that's enough for now.

Anyone thought this Kyuubi was quite the philosopher? I got the idea from watching Matrix Reloaded, when Keanu Reeves's character Neo talks to an old man called the Architect. Also, I have decided to give Naruto the Mangenkyo Sharingan, but he won't acquire it like Sasuke or Itachi did. He'll acquire it like Madara and his brother did through heavy training. He is already quite the maniac in the training department. For him, training is constant in his life. Next chapter will be the interaction with Tsunade and the following fight with Orochimaru. I chose for Jiraiya to meet Tsuande without Naruto. Personally, it would be way too repetitive. So, I figured it was good to see how Jiraiya alone would manage to convince the big breasted sannin.

See ya.


	15. Godaime

**Author Note**

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes.

I'd like to take some time and appreciate Kishimoto for completely confusing everyone about the method of obtaining the Mangenkyou Sharingan. On a personal level, he had ruined my idea to give Naruto the Mangenkyou Sharingan by following on a different path than simply killing one's best friend or most dear companion. For instance, take Kakashi's sharingan for example. At the beginning of the Naruto series, we see the man using the completely evolved sharingan pretty much all the time, no matter the odds are against him (even against Orochimaru when the man appeared in the chunnin exams). Now, much to my irritation, the damn creator shows an image of Kakashi developing the Mangenkyou after killing his teammate Rin.

For all we know, Kakashi somehow developed the Magenkyou in between the two year and a half timeskip between the Naruto series and the Shippuuden.

I've been debating with myself now if perhaps the _**only**_ way to achieve the MS is indeed killing your best friend. I don't know about the others who managed to activate (Madara, Izuna and Shisui). Did they kill their best friend as well for this? In deciding to give Naruto the Mangenkyou Sharingan in this story without him killing anyone important to him, would it be wrong to go down this road? I just don't know what to do about this anymore. That being said, I'd like your opinion about it. Simply abide by the concept of the world created by Kishimoto or bend it slightly to create another method of giving him the MS.

**It's your call really. I am a loss here.**

Now, since giving him the MS is only going to happen later, I don't have to focus on this subject right now. Just that depending on what you guys decide, I might have to change the earlier chapters to rectify.

Moving on, last chapter, Naruto and Jiraiya got to travel throughout Fire Country searching for the sannin Tsunade and convince her to go back to Konoha and accept the title of Godaime Hokage. In the mean time, the pervert sannin trained the chunnin in both his elements as well as the first steps to the Rasengan. Now, as Jiraiya was able to find Tsunade without Naruto who is resting right now, will Jiraiya be able to convince the woman to come back. Let's check it out.

* * *

**Chapter 15 – Godaime**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

When Naruto woke up, he realized with surprise that it was already day time outside.

The last memory he had was arriving in Tanzaku City and finishing the second step of the rasengan, before falling unconscious on the ground. Next thing he knew he was inside a hotel room the very next day. Jiraiya wasn't anywhere nearby, which to him wasn't much of a surprise. It wasn't the first time he had done that and it wouldn't be the last, he mused. What Naruto found odd about the room was that he wasn't alone. On the bed that supposed to be Jiraiya's, there was what appeared to be a red amphibian wearing a blue vest. The damn animal was snoring and producing a loud and annoying noise that the chunnin wondered how tired he was that he wasn't awakened by it.

Quickly throwing a pillow, Naruto smirked as the projectile toss hit the snoring animal head on. What he found most peculiar was the fact that he heard actual complaining from the animal.

"What's the big idea here? I was sleeping damn it." Gamakichi looked at the kid whose answer was fixed in simply staring at the toad blinking multiple times. "What are you staring at?"

"You talk?" Gamakichi threw the pillow back at Naruto with a snarl in response to the question.

"Of course, I can talk, I'm a summon toad. The damn pervert summoned me here to watch over you. Though seeing your attitude, I guess he wanted to get away and put me here instead." Naruto frowned at the jab, but said nothing. He simply got up and looked around a bit. Jiraiya had placed him inside the room yesterday and it was morning now and he was still due to show himself. He wasn't worried about the sannin's safety or anything remotely related. His participation in this mission was merely to accompany the man as he searched for the only female member of the Sannin, Senju Tsunade. Without him around, the boy was left with nothing to do except wait. He turned to the toad that was looking at him with a frown on its face because of the pillow incident.

"Did he say anything to you? Where he is at the moment or if I'm supposed to meet him when I woke up?" Gamakichi, though, wasn't in the mood to answer anything.

"I'm not saying anything until you apologize." Naruto frowned at the toad, but complied.

"I'm sorry about throwing a pillow at you. You were snoring so loud it was getting annoying." The toad snorted.

"Apology accepted, I guess. No, he didn't say anything to me. He just wanted for me to watch out if something happened to you while you're alone. Now that you're awake, I guess I'll be going now." Naruto nodded before the toad vanished from this world, leaving the blond alone with his thoughts. Actually, he had but one thought in his mind which was filling the void that was inside his stomach. Since meeting Itachi and that partner of his, Naruto actually felt a bit against leaving the hotel on his own, at least for now since he didn't know if they would try to capture him once more. With that thought in mind, Naruto left the room and went to the hotel lobby where there was a small restaurant.

The chunnin was surprised when he saw the damn pervert inside the restaurant literally passed out in the furthest table.

It was times like these that he wished he had a few suiton jutsu to throw at the man to wake him up. Quickly placing his order, Naruto took a seat in front of his temporary sensei, while waiting for his water bottle to be brought by the waiter, along with a nice bowl of ramen. It took a total of ten minutes for Naruto's order to be ready as the waiter placed it on the table. The chunnin thanked the man and slowly opened the bottle of water, before slowly placing it over Jiraiya's head. The old man lifted his head quickly, screaming Tsunade over and over again.

"Morning sleeping beauty…" Jiraiya frowned once he saw Naruto, before rubbing his head to ease the worst hangover he ever had in his life. What was he thinking, challenging Tsunade to a drinking contest?

"Morning brat." Naruto snorted and wondered what the hell happened last night for his sensei to look like he was beaten to death.

"What happened last night? I blacked out from training and the next thing I remember is waking up inside some room next to a talking toad with an attitude problem." Jiraiya smirked at the question while searching the waiter of the place to bring him something for the headache. Truth be told, the events of last night weren't one hundred percent clear yet. What he did remember was the alcohol and his surprise at seeing his teammate drink as much as she did without dire repercussions, aside from massive hangover. He noticed that Naruto was still waiting for an answer and if possible, his headache only increased. Seriously, it will take a while for him to even think of sake without feeling the urge to vomit.

"Easy brat…I have just woken up from a massive drinking contest. Please come back with the question a bit later." Naruto sighed but realized he didn't give that much of a damn to what really happened.

The pervert was here after all.

"Not that I care much anyway, but did you at least find the woman you're looking for?" Naruto resumed his lunch once he saw Jiraiya nod while still nurturing his headache. Silence reigned after the awkward conversation. Naruto had his entire focus on his meal while Jiraiya's was focused on the table in front of him. Nothing would come from this for a while. Ten minutes later, though, the blond chunnin finished his meal and he noticed that the pervert was asleep once more. He sighed in dismay at the situation and paid the meal. He needed to at least extend the same courtesy and take Jiraiya to their room. Naruto knew, though, that he just couldn't carry the man by himself, meaning he needed the help of his bunshin. Summoning a tiger for this just wasn't worth the chakra waste. Naruto ignored the stares given by the hotel staff as well as the other guests.

In all fairness, things like this happened all the time in this town, so why people kept staring he didn't know.

After getting inside their room and ignoring the presence of a crow by the room window, Naruto and his clones threw Jiraiya towards the bed. So powerful was the hangover that Jiraiya didn't even feel his head banging against the bed's headboard. The original chunnin sighed once he heard one of his clones mumble the word 'oops'. Once that was out of the way, the boy figured that he didn't have better things to do, so he just hopped on his bed and took the material he acquired from the Uchiha Clan's Library. Aside from fire manipulation, Naruto had found a bit on the sharingan as well. Kyuubi did say it would be prudent to train the eyes as well, since it is considered one of his tools. Truth be told, Naruto hadn't give it much thought about what Kyuubi mentioned as the next evolution of the sharingan eyes, called Mangenkyou Sharingan. The prospect of killing your best friend seemed so unreal to Naruto that he wondered how twisted one would be to first form a bond with someone only to kill him or her in the end.

His sharingan was perfect that way it was at least for the time being.

Back to studying mode, Naruto began to analyze his own eyes, silently listing its uses. With the use of his eyes, he could anticipate physical attacks as he saw them coming in slow mode. He constantly trained his body to get used to the speed, but he had to continue training in that regard. He still had trouble following a jounin's speed, but he was slowly getting there. The sharingan also gave him an ace in ninjutsu as he was able to copy the opponent's techniques as well as understand what the enemy was throwing at him before it actually happened. He figured that this way Naruto could defend accordingly. Another quality of the sharingan, and one that Naruto rarely exploited, was genjutsu. Truth be told, the only genjutsu technique he had was the one that Kakashi taught him. Naruto supposed that he had focused way too much time on improving his ninjutsu and taijutsu, practically dismissing his genjutsu capabilities. He figured that once he returned to Konoha, he could get his hands on a few techniques. For now, Naruto figured that practicing genjutsu now was a good form of training.

For an obvious reason, he couldn't train his ninjutsu inside a hotel room.

That being said, Naruto summoned a few kage bunshins before activating his sharingan eyes and casting Kakashi's ocular genjutsu on them. When the last one was dispelled, Naruto wanted to slap himself as he forgot that he could ask for a friend's help to learn some genjutsu techniques. Gathering a bit of chakra and sacrificing blood, he summoned Shirotora once more. The boy was surprised, however, when on top of the summon's head was a small cub, biting Shirotora's ear with as much force as it could muster. Naruto realized that perhaps he had interrupted something here.

**(AN: Yes, it seems I have forgotten to name the tiger summon, so Shirotora it is.)**

"Uh, did I call you in a bad time?" The summons quickly threw the cub on the floor and looked at his summoner.

"**Seeing the lack of danger you're in right now, I'd say yes you did."** Shirotora said, earning an apologetic nod from Naruto. **"Now that I'm here, what can I help you with?"** Naruto didn't get to explain, though, before he was tackled by the small white tiger that was bothering Shirotora. The act alone made the big white tiger smile if such a thing was possible. **"He seems to have a liking to you Naruto, perhaps you could do me a favor and get him away from my ear a bit, his teeth are starting to grow." **Naruto nodded with a smile on his face as he started to wrestle with the small cub. For a cub, the little one was a bit smaller than half of Shirotora's size. Naruto placed the cub on the ground, before turning to Shirotora with a smile.

"I was wondering if you could teach me a genjutsu technique or two. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't focus much on illusions as I should." The tiger nodded, all too eager to appease his summoner's needs.

Shirotora didn't remember the last time his ear wasn't a chew toy. He already knew from the top of his head, two genjutsu techniques that would fit nicely to the summoner, since both of them are rather unique to Naruto's set of eyes. **Magen Kasegui no Jutsu** (Demonic Illusion Shackling Stakes) and **Magen Kyouten Chiten** (Demonic Illusion Mirror Heaven and Earth Change) were techniques developed by the Uchiha Clan, since it's better used by looking directly at the opponent's eyes. Since Shirotora didn't have the sharingan, he could only teach the theory behind it and serve as a test subject to his summoner. Because of Naruto's giant chakra reserves, he had to struggle a bit to maintain the slow flow of chakra necessary to keep up the illusion. It took the chunnin a couple of hours to learn the first one and the second technique consisted of using the opponent's chakra and turn it to the caster.

No one in the room noticed when the crow that was in the window flew away.

* * *

**===Somewhere in Fire Country===**

Itachi and Kisame were walking by when the crow that was busy spying on Naruto landed on his shoulder. A brief look on the crow's eyes made the Uchiha smile briefly. According to his summon, Naruto had asked the help of his own summon to learn some sharingan oriented genjutsu techniques. It was quite interesting as Itachi always pegged Naruto as being a more ninjutsu oriented individual. Being better-rounded, his skills will soon be enough for him to defend himself against the majority of his enemies out there. Itachi's outfit managed to cover his smirk from Kisame, but the shark like shinobi couldn't help but comment on the bird's sudden appearance.

"Any luck in finding the brat?" Itachi negated with his head.

"Now that Jiraiya is on to us, he won't allow us to get close. The crow had to dodge a few kunai once it attempted to follow." Kisame snorted, but dismissed it for the time.

"What now?" Kisame asked as they continued to walk, when both received the signal from their ring.

"We go back to the base, it seems."

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

With nothing better to do now that he managed to learn genjutsu, Naruto decided to wait until Jiraiya woke up. Shirotora was gone stating that he needed to take care of some things. He left the cub there, though. Naruto guessed that the little nuisance was too much for the older tiger and wanted some relaxing time. Naruto was okay with looking out for the little one as the cub now settled to pester Jiraiya instead of him. It was quite amusing to see the small tiger confuse Jiraiya's long white hair with fur. It wouldn't take long for the cub to start what appeared to be his most precious hobby and bite Jiraiya's ear. As soon as the small teeth grabbed the pervert's ear, he screamed in pain and jumped from the bed.

The cub was surprised as hell and jumped away as soon as he sensed danger. Naruto had to marvel at the little guy's agility. The little tiger was already behind Naruto when Jiraiya stood up with a kunai in hand.

"Where is the little shit? I'll skewer him alive Where is he?" His eyes landed on the white fur behind Naruto and smirked. Suddenly, though, he felt tired all of a sudden and a bit woozy. His instincts immediately kicked in as he saw Naruto's sharingan spinning madly like a cartwheel. Quickly dispelling the genjutsu, he looked at the kid in front of him with a new light. Thus far, Jiraiya wasn't aware that Naruto was capable of using genjutsu, being such a fanatic for elemental ninjutsu.

"I see you calmed down somewhat. I couldn't allow you to harm him. Until his father arrives, he is my responsibility." Jiraiya saw the kid extending his head and gently caressed the cub's chin, much to the little guy's enjoyment. "Now that your headache is over, you can tell me what happened yesterday?" Jiraiya nodded and took a sit on his bed, still rather amused to see the cute little tiger melting under Naruto's caress. He couldn't tell but it appeared that the small tiger was almost falling asleep. He became serious since the memory had fully returned by now. He began to explain the events of last night, starting with placing Naruto inside their room and then looking for Tsunade. He explained how reluctant the woman was at accepting to come back to Konoha, based on what happened to her brother and lover. Naruto couldn't help but extend his sympathies, even though he couldn't begin to understand the prospect of losing a member of the family.

He was born without one.

Jiraiya then explained how stubborn the woman was behaving, going as far as to threaten him to use that super strength of hers if he didn't stop talking. With that, Jiraiya went for the strategic fallback and vowed to try again throughout the week. Jiraiya told that he had placed a tracking seal close to her position, allowing him to track her at all times now. Naruto nodded, before smoke appeared inside the room. Shirotora was there and took the cub back to their realm.

"So what now?" Naruto asked, earning a smile from the perverted sannin.

"We will go meet her once more. I'll talk to her while you keep practicing the final phase of the rasengan." Naruto didn't appear very convinced of the plan. From what he learned from the woman, it was clear that Jiraiya's attempts weren't enough. Nevertheless, Naruto figured that for him the only thing that mattered right now was getting stronger under the pervert's guidance. With or without Tsunade, they would simply return home and Naruto would begin doing chunnin assignments. As they left the room, Jiraiya found it in his good nature to warn Naruto of the woman's rather short temper. "Brat, just don't say anything to anger her. I'm running through a thin layer here and any misinterpretation on her part, and the mission is a failure."

"Not that I mind much about it, but you don't need to worry about me. You're the one who knows her best." Jiraiya looked at the kid for a while and nodded.

Indeed, Naruto wouldn't know of the repercussions of not having Tsunade as the Hokage. He had already declined the position, so he was sure that the next available choice wouldn't think twice before accepting. Jiraiya wouldn't dare think of what would happen to Konoha if Danzou were to be nominated as the Godaime Hokage. It is something that only jounin and above knew actually. Once out of the hotel, Jiraiya quickly turned to the right and walked towards what appeared to be an open field. Naruto started to question where they were going until he saw two women next to a river stream watching what appeared to be a pig drinking some water.

From the picture he remembered of Tsunade's appearance, Naruto wondered what the hell was going on here.

Jiraiya had explained that the picture was taken a long time ago. However, the woman didn't appear older than Kakashi or Kasumi. Sensing something amiss as they walked, Naruto quickly activated the sharingan and lifted his eyebrow in surprise at the henge. The pervert sannin saw what Naruto was doing and placed a hand on his shoulder, forcing Naruto to look at him. A simple nod was enough to tell Naruto that it was a sensitive topic.

"Hi there, Tsunade" Jiraiya said as he approached the woman. Naruto didn't bother staying by his side. He began his training with the rasengan, completely ignoring the presence of the two women.

"What are you doing here, Jiraiya? I already told you 'no' and who is the brat?" Jiraiya turned briefly to observe Naruto's work with the rasengan, before looking back at her.

"He is Uzumaki Naruto and I've taken him with me here to teach him a couple things." Jiraiya ignored the brief look of surprise that both Tsunade and her companion Shizune had since both of them knew about the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. "As to what I'm doing here, I merely wish to converse with you, Tsunade. Yesterday, you were rather impatient with me once I came with the news, but now that you had time to mull over, I want to hear your response." Tsunade was looking at the chunnin when she heard Jiraiya speaking once more. She shot him a fierce glare at the mention of said topic, but soon realized that this time something different occurred.

For one, Jiraiya was meeting her gaze head on. Tsunade became enraged at this and moved to punch Jiraiya. She was surprised when a wall of earth lifted right in front of Jiraiya.

In normal circumstances, her punch would go through the wall like it wasn't even there, but she was focusing only one third of her strength to beat some sense into her once teammate. When the wall went down, she met his gaze and found in surprise that he was surprised as well. He turned to see the kid only to see him placing both hands on the ground. The pervert couldn't help but smirk at the kid. His sharingan must have caught the woman's intention to go through with the technique.

"Oi Naruto, you didn't need to protect me you know." Jiraiya was rather amused at the situation. The chunnin just shrugged it off.

"She was about to attack and you wouldn't lift a finger to stop it." The perverted sannin smirked and then turned to see that Tsunade was still looking at Naruto or rather the red eyes that she was familiar with.

He figured that a little explanation was in order. That and Tsunade practically demanded answers.

"Spill it Jiraiya, how does he possess the sharingan? Naruto is not an Uchiha." Jiraiya nodded, explaining the entire story to the woman while Naruto shrugged and went back to his rasengan training. The technique was ridiculously difficult, he cursed. The first and second steps were rather easy to complete, but keeping up the rotation and the force at the same time was impossible. It was like looking left and right at the same time. Perhaps he could use a clone to split the work, but that wouldn't be completing the technique like Jiraiya was able to. Meanwhile, Jiraiya had finished explaining the events that allowed Naruto to have the accursed doujutsu. To say the woman was surprised was an understatement.

The Kyuubi event alone already brought the kid lots of traumatic events. She wondered how the boy's mind was able to cope with such strain.

"I'm still waiting for your answer, Tsunade. Will you come back to Konoha with us and become the Godaime Hokage?" Tsunade looked at the pervert once more.

"My answer is the same, Jiraiya. You're only wasting your time. Shizune, we're leaving." The woman sannin just walked away followed by Shizune who was now holding the pig on her arms. Jiraiya just stood there, looking at the same place as if Tsunade hadn't moved. Despite the woman's repeated denial, Jiraiya couldn't help but smirk and wonder in silence how much he really enjoyed pestering his old teammate. The pervert was now in one of those situations where you simply cannot fail. That being said, he would have to apologize to her later, because if it was one thing that Jiraiya never did was to give up. When Naruto approached nearby while looking at Tsunade's back, he then looked at his temporary sensei.

"Can we go home now? It's clear that whatever you're attempting isn't working." Naruto, though, saw the smirk on the pervert's face.

"Kid, clearly you know nothing of convincing others through exhaustion. I wouldn't be here right now as awesome as I am today if I backed down so easily. I can still track her and I won't stop until she either kills me or accepts the position." Naruto looked at the man and sighed. He at least had to give it to Jiraiya. The man was more stubborn than a mule. The pervert looked at his temporary student and with the same smirk as before, cracked his knuckles a bit. "How about we set the rasengan training aside for a moment and spar a little. We can use all the techniques you wish against me and I will do the same, obviously not to the extreme of aiming to kill. You're allowed to, though." The blond smirked with his sharingan already activated.

"Now you're talking…"

* * *

**===With Tsunade===**

Shizune was looking at her master's back with nothing but concern at the present situation.

She knew that there was another reason why she was giving Jiraiya-sama such a hard time. Days before Jiraiya's arrival, they were confronted by the other sannin Orochimaru and his second in command. The man surely knew how to convince Tsunade into doing his bidding. In exchange for healing his arms that were lost at his fight against the Sandaime Hokage, Orochimaru offered the resurrection of two people that happened to be Tsunade's entire life, Tsunade's little brother Senju Nawaki and Shizune's uncle Dan. Shizune remembered seeing the predatory smirk on the snake sannin's face as he saw the amount of conflicting pain in her master's face.

Never before she realized how akin to a snake, Orochimaru looked like. He knew that simply pleading for her help wouldn't be enough, so he offered her the only thing that no one could.

He gave them a week to decide and Shizune believed her master would refuse right away at first. When she didn't outright refuse, Shizune became preoccupied. How could she fault Tsunade really? Dan was her uncle as well, but her love for the man couldn't even compare to Tsunade's. They were schedule to be married after all. In all fairness, Shizune believed they didn't even have to show up to the meeting with the snake sannin. She didn't know what her master was thinking and that worried her greatly.

"Tsunade-sama…" The blonde woman turned her neck slightly to look at Shizune's clearly worried eyes. She immediately knew what her prodigy was thinking.

Shizune couldn't see but Tsunade was looking towards the ground without any kind of focus right now. She just wanted to walk towards random directions, hoping that an answer falls in front of her. She just didn't know what to do concerning the damn snake. The one thing she wanted most right now was to see those two once more. She missed the strong and warmth feeling of being embraced by her lover. He was always there for her, supporting her goals, hugging her when she needed. Above all things, she missed the way he looked at her with such passionate feeling. In Nawaki, she missed his bright smile when he would come and show her some of his skills. She even missed teasing the little guy when she saw him with a girl his age. Her body started shaking at the bottled memories that were starting to appear before her eyes. She was desperate to see them again. However…

Could she bring herself to betray her village and help Konoha's worst criminal? Shizune's unasked question had no answer.

"I just don't know Shizune. I just don't know." Shizune nodded with even sadder look than before upon seeing Tsunade's situation. Her worst fear was now happening and she didn't know what to do.

"We can tell Jir…" Shizune immediately speaking at the mere look from her master's eyes. The look alone told her more than enough. However, for all the love she had for her master, she couldn't allow her to go down this path on her own. With that thought, Shizune would wait until the woman was asleep and do the right thing.

* * *

**===At night===**

Jiraiya placed an unconscious Naruto on his bed with a smile on his face.

The kid managed to put up one hell of a fight and the pervert sannin was proud to see qualities from both his parents in the kid. He could see Minato's intelligence in the kid's moves, but he also could see some of Kushina's brashness as well. When Jiraiya got up, he flinched at the pain from some attacks that hit him. Naruto's ability in doton ninjutsu was pretty advanced for his age, he mused. His fire techniques were even more dangerous, but at least Jiraiya knew to pay better attention at them, unless he wanted to have second degree burns. The pervert was beat. His stamina was considered smaller than the kid, but the reason he was still standing was because of his experience in wasting less chakra for his techniques.

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes when he sensed a shadow outside the window and moved to intercept. He was surprised, though, when he caught Shizune there of all people.

"Shizune, what you're doing here? Something happened to Tsunade?" Her face appeared conflicted and she was indeed, because she was about to betray Tsunade's trust. The woman nodded and told the pervert everything, consequences be damned. As Jiraiya listened, he began questioning his ex-teammate's ability to play with other's lives like that. When Shizune finished explaining, she saw the pervert's expression and couldn't help but agree with him.

"I appreciate you telling me this Shizune and don't worry. We won't act on it, but we will be present just in case. I can guarantee to you that Tsunade won't turn against the village. She will do the right thing." Shizune nodded with a smile. "I'm also sure that Orochimaru will retaliate. When he does that, we'll be there to stop him. You can trust me on this." Shizune nodded once more, knowing now that she had made the right call. Depending on the situation, getting help from one man rarely solves anything. When said man has the power equivalent to a Kage, though, the story is different, much different. Shizune quickly left and headed straight towards the inn where she and Tsunade were staying

Jiraiya looked at the sleeping form of his student and sighed in dismay. He would need to prepare him to face Orochimaru's second in command together with Shizune. Jiraiya didn't know much about him, but he at least had to raise the stakes in Naruto's training these last two days. The rasengan will need to be mastered before the fight begins. His student would have to resort to blind luck and a huge amount of hard work to get where Jiraiya needed him to be.

* * *

**===Day of the meeting===**

When the day came for Tsunade to give her answer, Orochimaru and his wing man Kabuto were standing in a deserted clearing surrounded by mountains and small vegetation.

The wind today was rather fierce as it lifted quite a bit of dust, thus obscuring the snake sannin's vision of the horizon. However, one wouldn't be a sannin if he couldn't tell that someone was coming without the use of his eyes. The shadow of Tsunade and Shizune soon appeared and Orochimaru couldn't help but show a predatory smile. His psychological warfare brought results after all. It didn't take long for the shadow to morph into the perfect image of his teammate. Orochimaru thus could see the fierce look on her face and smirked even more in amusement. The number one lesson in convincing someone was knowing what he or she most desired and then use it as leverage.

As Tsunade stopped inches from his position, Orochimaru remained the smirk.

"I trust you have the answer, Tsunade?" Tsunade nodded. Shizune looked at the scene with great apprehension.

"Can you really bring them back?" Orochimaru smirked and responded with a nod, while subtly studying the reaction of the woman behind Tsunade. She appeared surprised at the decision. "Extend your arms then."

The snake sannin did just that, before Tsunade's hands started glowing green. However, she was forced to dodge back as soon as Kabuto attacked her with a kunai. The snake sannin simply looked at his second in command with a questioning look.

"I know that technique, Orochimaru-sama, she was trying to kill you." The snake sannin heard the snarl from Tsunade and smirked.

"How devious of you Tsunade-hime, lucky for me I have powerful allies by my side. Now that you've given me your answer, I'm afraid I can't let you live." Tsunade, though, didn't wait and immediately charged at Orochimaru who maintained his smirk when Kabuto appeared in front of him. Tsunade merely scoffed at the opposition and kept charging. What happened next, though, caught Shizune by surprise as Kabuto deliberately caused a wound on his arm, spilling a large amount of blood straight on Tsunade's face. Her heart skipped a beat as the red liquid hit her face. Her pupils became dilated. She was no longer in the clearing, but back to the event that caused her hemophobia to start. Her lover Dan bleeding profusely on the ground under a heavy rain. Tsunade's hands were filled with his blood. Kabuto in the mean time smirked at the woman and charged to kill her with a simple kunai stab on her neck.

However, before he made one more step, everyone was surprised that the last member of the Sannin came with a roundhouse kick that hit Kabuto, sending him near Orochimaru.

"It's such a pleasure to meet you here of all places Orochimaru." The snake sannin looked at his teammate with a frown as he noticed that another person had joined the battle as well. Orochimaru saw the sharingan eyes in the Kyuubi brat and snarled since he couldn't take possession of his body because of the fox inside of him. Since he couldn't get the sharingan, there was no reason that Orochimaru saw in keeping the brat alive. Also in killing him, he manages to ruin the plans of a certain organization that is after the bijuu.

"You're nothing but a fool Jiraiya and now you'll share the same fate as sensei. Kabuto, please deal with the other brats."

The second in command nodded, before Orochimaru jumped away followed by Jiraiya confident that Naruto and Shizune will be okay against this man.

* * *

**===Naruto's fight===**

Kabuto thought nothing of the other S-ranked fight and neither the shaking form of Tsunade on the ground.

He just charged at his first target, being Shizune. With good agility, though, the medic-nin lifted the sleeve of her kimono and unleashed a barrage of senbon towards Kabuto, who simply dodged and kept his frontal assault with a smirk on his face. Medic-nin weren't known for their prowess in the field. Shizune even attempted to parry the man's attack with a kunai of her own, but Kabuto once more dodged before breaking the woman's rather frail taijutsu guard. The look on her executioner's face was evident that she was doomed right there. Tsunade never focused much in training her in combat skills, focusing instead in improving her knowledge and chakra control necessary to survive in the field of medicine.

However, when instead of the noise of metal piercing flesh and a subsequent feeling of immeasurable pain, Shizune only heard a loud noise of metal clinging against metal and looked down.

Naruto was there parrying Kabuto's kunai with his sword, as he looked with his fully evolved sharingan. Kabuto quickly reacted using his chakra scalpels, but Naruto had already created some distance from the guy by taking Shizune away from the damage. He placed her near Tsunade for protection, before facing Kabuto. Shizune was shocked by the speed, before she remembered the sharingan's capabilities of anticipating the enemy's movements. Naruto immediately went through hand seals, before gathering air inside his lungs.

_Katon Dai Endan_ (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)

Kabuto dodged the fireball easily, but saw the sudden shuriken that came at him from a different direction, forcing him to block using a kunai. Naruto saw the opportunity and charged with both his swords in hand. Because of the sharingan, all his moves were governed according to the information received by the accursed dojutsu. Which meant that Naruto was forcing Orochimaru's second in command to use all his agility to avoid the death slices of his swords. Still, Naruto wasn't as fast as a jounin and he couldn't keep up forever. Knowing this and avoiding another chakra scalpel, Naruto went through another set of hand seals, this time focusing on a different element.

_Doton Doryuu Dangan (Earth Release: Mud Shot Technique)_

The consecutive shots hit Kabuto head on, but he was replaced with a mud clone soon afterward, appearing behind the still shaking Tsunade. Naruto cursed the man and focused chakra through his feet in order to keep him from reaching Tsunade. Luckily for him, Shizune was quick on her feet and unleashed a black smoke from her mouth that stopped Kabuto's movement, giving Naruto ample time to not only arrive, but also send a clone underground. When the smoke cleared, Kabuto appeared not at all bothered with the poison smoke that Shizune unleashed at him.

"Foolish girl, I am immune to most poisons thanks to Orochimaru-sama. I…" Kabuto was surprised when a hand grabbed his leg and began to bring him below ground. Kabuto used his scalpel to kill the clone, but Naruto wasn't counting on that actually working. He was more interested in unleashing his _Katon Kaen no Arashi_ (Fire Release: Fire Storm Technique) at the slightly trapped Kabuto who couldn't do anything but be hit dead on by the flames. His body was covered with second degree burns, but the man just kept smirking. "You have to do a lot more than this to…" Kabuto wasn't very proficient in fighting against the sharingan, hence he didn't know that the worst thing one could do was to look straight at Naruto's eyes.

_Magen Kasegui no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion Shackling Stakes)_

Kabuto was staring at the kid in front of him while trying with all his might to move his body, but something was stopping him from doing so. He saw the kid extending his hand and wondered what the hell he was up to now. Orochimaru's second in command widened his eyes when he realized that he could see the chakra being molded. Naruto, for his part, was using every inch of his concentration in order to maintain the steady level of chakra for the genjutsu through his eyes and focus on the Rasengan. Throughout the last two days, he had summoned a good number of kage bunshins to aid him in controlling the damn technique. He wasn't about to fail now. When the rasengan was finished, Naruto charged with considerable speed at Kabuto and released the genjutsu on him just as he slammed the rasengan in Kabuto's stomach. The man's scream echoed through the clearing as the gigantic ball of energy sent him flying towards a sizeable rock.

Tsunade has already awoken from her trauma since Shizune managed to clean the blood from her face. She was able to see the chunnin dealing with Kabuto.

She could see the fierce resolve in the kid, even though she was looking at his back. Tsunade was suddenly shocked out of her core as hallucinations started to appear behind Naruto. She saw her lover Dan and her brother Nawaki next to Naruto, giving the same pose. Was it a hallucination? When the chunnin turned to see her, both Dan and Nawaki turned at the same time. Now, all three were looking at her, before Dan and Nawaki were longer there.

"Are you alright?" The woman briefly nodded, still dumbstruck. Here she was, a sannin known throughout the elemental nations as the strongest kunoichi, being saved by a chunnin.

Tsunade sensed that the images were saying something to her. It was like the two most important people in her life were there giving Naruto strength to face the opposition. Slowly but surely, she got up. Kabuto, for his part, had a hole on his stomach. Despite the fact that his body was healing, the damage done by the attack was keeping him from openly moving once more. He had never faced this kind of pain before as he fell on the ground.

* * *

**===Orochimaru x Jiraiya===**

The fight between sannin was fierce and despite the fact that Orochimaru couldn't use his arms; it didn't mean that the man was less dangerous.

Aside from his arms, Orochimaru could extend his neck, his legs and even jutsus that require little to no hand seals like the mud bunshin and kawarimi. Thus for all the power that Jiraiya placed in his jutsu, Orochimaru would simply move out of the way and attack Jiraiya with the hidden kusanagi that he can fight with using his tongue. However, the fight soon came at a halt as Orochimaru saw how the Kyuubi brat was fairing against Kabuto. It only made him angrier at how the sharingan was keeping Kabuto from even landing a hit on the kid whereas the kid was doing all sorts of damage to him. When he saw his wing man flying because of the rasengan, Orochimaru realized that he needed to kill him.

Moving quickly, he escaped from the fight and charged straight at Naruto's back with his kusanagi, aiming to kill the brat. Jiraiya realized it too late to stop him.

* * *

**===With Tsunade===**

Tsunade saw the image behind Naruto's back approaching.

Orochimaru was charging at him with a sword on his tongue ready to pierce Naruto's skin like a knife through butter. Her body started trembling as she realized that the boy wouldn't be fast enough to dodge, even if he acknowledged the threat to his life right now. Using all her speed and focusing all her chakra through her legs, Tsunade charged and stood in front of the already shocked Naruto. The noise of metal piercing flesh shocked everyone, including Orochimaru who cursed the woman for standing in his way of ruining Akatsuki's plans. Tsunade was still trembling as the wound drew a large amount of blood…her own.

"You don't even know this kid, Tsunade. Yet you sacrifice your own life for him." Orochimaru's sword was still inside her as he saw Tsunade speaking while still trembling.

"I've saw something in him; something that showed me that perhaps I've been away for far too long." When her body stopped shaking Orochimaru realized that he was screwed. He received a powerful uppercut on his chin. Orochimaru was on the ground as he saw Tsunade going through hand seals, before the seal on her forehead was gone and smoke erupted from the wound caused by the Kusanagi. "I've seen the images of both my loved ones behind him which tells me that the kid is something special to them. Because of this…" Tsunade was now glaring at Orochimaru fiercely. "You may now call me the Godaime Hokage." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes just as Jiraiya appeared by her side. He knew better than to face his two teammates on his own since Kabuto was out of commission. He immediately left via shunshin and arrived near Kabuto, before vanishing from the premise. Jiraiya turned to the woman with a lecherous smirk on his face as Naruto appeared in front of them.

"Ah…thank you for saving me." Tsunade smirked at the kid.

"Think nothing of it gaki, it's merely retribution." Naruto nodded as Tsunade turned to Jiraiya. "Shall we go?"

* * *

**Author Note**

Ok that's it for the moment.

Not much to say except that I enjoy writing action scenes.

Tell me what you think and please remember to give your opinion on the Mangenkyou Sharingan. If I should stick to the Kishimoto's world and not give Naruto the Mangenkyou Sharingan since I am not planning for him to kill someone close to him or if I can give him the MS by placing him through life and death situations and training through death? You're choice.

Best Regards.


	16. Sharingan Warrior

**Author Note**

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes.

First of all, I want to appreciate everyone on your insight over the Mangenkyou Sharingan. The opinion shared by the majority (which had me convinced) was that the trigger to the Mangenkyou Sharingan was not merely killing your best friend or even your most beloved person, but instead the strong emotion that comes with the act. With that in mind, Obito and Sasuke were fine examples. Obito Uchiha got his sharingan after witnessing the death of his comrade and secret crush Rin, at the hands of his other comrade Kakashi (which by the way Kishimoto is still due to explain what really happened that day. I guess that after Obito is killed, Kakashi will tell him what happened). Sasuke, for his turn, activated his after remembering the sacrifices made by his brother. From this point on, we can extend the same theory to Itachi as he trusted Shisui as his best friend at the time. The act of killing him brought him enough pain and misery that he activated the Mangenkyou Sharingan.

The reason I'm very happy about this research is that now I have enough background to give Naruto the MS. I just need to think of a tragic event that could trigger the eyes' transformation.

Okay with that settled, I'll be brief about the events of last chapter. Naruto and Jiraiya managed to find Tsunade, but as usual, she wasn't willing to accept the invitation of becoming the Godaime Hokage. Tsunade met with Orochimaru, hoping to lure him with his proposition so that she could kill him. Her plan backfired as Kabuto warned his master ahead of time. Jiraiya and Naruto quickly showed up and took control of the situation. Naruto fought Kabuto on equal grounds (even if the sharingan was activated the entire time and Kabuto was underestimating Naruto) and managed to protect Tsunade and Shizune long enough for the female sannin to grow a backbone and control her hemophobia, long enough to bit the living crap out of Orochimaru, forcing him to flee. With the fight finished, the group now returns to Konoha.

Enjoy!

Just as a heads up, there will be an extend time skip.

* * *

**Chapter 16 – Sharingan Warrior**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

Since no one was in a hurry to return, the group composed of two sannin, a jounin and a chunnin took their sweet time returning to the village as one of the sannin would take the mantle of Godaime Hokage.

Jiraiya and Tsunade were busy talking about the recent developments in the village, mostly to fill in the gaps of what she managed to hear throughout her travels. Jiraiya focused a lot on the invasion and how Orochimaru managed to fool both Konoha and Sunagakure by killing the Yondaime Kazekage and impersonating the man. The subject of their discussion shifted to the current shinobi force, going as far as to talk about the recently promoted chunnin that happened to be sparring with Shizune now. This time, though, it was a request from Shizune. After seeing how outmatched she was against Kabuto, a fellow medic-nin, Shizune now desired to get back into active duty and requested Naruto to help her in getting up to speed. Naruto had no qualms with it as he didn't share the sannin's enthusiasm of taking their fair time in reaching the village. Naruto's stamina sometimes worked against him, as simply relaxing wasn't in his nature.

The spar was focused on taijutsu and close combat skills only. Shizune, despite lacking stamina, compensated with keeping Naruto occupied with her senbon throwing gadget.

Naruto, though, managed to block the majority of them and pushed forward until he forced Shizune to abandon her strategy and get physical. This culminated in her losing the match as it was tough to match the chunnin in stamina. The taijutsu blows were matched as she happened to be more experienced than Naruto. When Naruto moved to finish the spar, he saw Shizune moving her hands to perform hand seals. Apparently, the taijutsu part of the spar was over, he assumed. She released the same poison fog that she used against Kabuto, but Naruto was already below the ground when the attack occurred. When the fog was lifted, Shizune couldn't find Naruto anywhere. The woman was surprised when two hands grabbed her ankles.

_Doton Shinjuu Zanshu (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique) _

Naruto didn't waste time and ruthlessly pulled the woman below ground, keeping only her head out. Naruto got out from the ground and looked at his sparring partner. She sighed in dismay at her performance once more. She was even more in shame when Tsunade and Jiraiya appeared behind Naruto. The fact that both of them were trying very hard, but failing, in not laughing at the situation only made her want to use her medical ninjutsu at the chunnin in front of her. It got worse seeing as her outfit was obviously ruined.

"Was that necessary, Naruto?" The two sannin had already left them alone, while Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

He helped Shizune get out of the ground and waited for the medic-nin to clean her outfit of the dirt as best she could. Looking at the kid in front of him, she supposed it was only fair since she had used jutsu against him.

"Say Naruto, you are pretty skilled for one so young. Who was it that trained you?" Shizune asked as they now walked right behind the sannin.

"When I first received the sharingan, I was trained by Hatake Kakashi in how to use the eyes. Then, when I graduated, I was placed in a genin team under Sarutobi Asuma. Jiraiya trained me for the duration of our trip to find you two." Shizune nodded, already impressed with the two names reviewed by the chunnin. She remembered Kakashi and Asuma as very gifted shinobi of their generation. When she left with Tsunade, Kakashi was about to join the Anbu forces and Asuma was thinking of accepting the invitation to join the Daimyou's Special Guard. Of course, Naruto didn't mention Kasumi-chan or the Anbu that practiced kenjutsu with him every day. Naruto remembered if it was possible to find him once more to have another kenjutsu spar.

Shizune then asked questions about some other names, but the chunnin only knew some of the names.

"Well, Kurenai-san is now a jounin and received a genin team. Maito Gai is also responsible for a team and he constantly challenges Kakashi." Shizune smiled at that. She remembered them going at it since both were genin. "I don't know much about this Shiranui Genma, except that he was the proctor of the Chunnin Exam. I don't know who Uzuki Yuugao is and I don't know about about this Raidou is either, sorry." Shizune nodded in appreciation to the boy. Something in her gut told Shizune that if Naruto didn't know about some of them could mean that they were killed. The boy was only now promoted to chunnin, hence he didn't know much about those who came before him. The conversation was put on hold after Naruto's answer and the chunnin took the time to go through some fire manipulation exercises. Naruto even summoned a kage bunshin to do earth manipulation exercises. Shizune looked at the kid next to her and wondered how much chakra he possessed.

She saw the small flame appearing in his hand after a few hand signals. The flames would increase in size and then decrease.

Shizune also saw the clone creating holes on the ground and then closing them repeatedly. Shizune was amazed at how eclectic Naruto was in the shinobi arts. The kid had taijutsu, kenjutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, not to mention the sharingan, followed by his stamina and access to the Kyuubi's chakra. He was only thirteen. The jounin medic-nin couldn't help but wonder how much further the kid can get until his chakra pathways are fully developed. Apparently, the same discussion was occurring between the sannin. Tsunade couldn't help but take her eyes away from the kid who now was busy doing elemental manipulation. She saw his ninjutsu against Kabuto and while his chakra control didn't compare to a medic-nin, it was pretty advanced.

"What's wrong with him, Jiraiya? He never gets tired?" Jiraiya smirked as he turned his head to observe Naruto for a while.

"The brat is relentless in his training, indeed. However, while he enjoys it, I dare say it's necessary." Tsunade kept listening. "Since you'll take the position of Godaime Hokage, there is something you must know and it involves Naruto. A powerful organization by the name of Akatsuki is currently after the jinchuuriki for the bijuu they carry. The organization is made of only S-ranked missing-nin and we so far know that Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, former member of the Seven Swordsmen, are a part of it. Orochimaru was a member once, but no more. We fear that they will come to get Naruto soon, so it's imperative that he trains as hard as possible." Tsunade was surprised at the names. Fighting one S-ranked opponent was already tough, but an entire organization of them was scary indeed. She kind of understood the kid a bit now as she saw him lifting a pillar of flame using fire manipulation exercises. "I have a feeling, though, that the kid will continue to improve at the same rate and will surpass us any day now." Tsunade nodded at the comment, still lost in her thoughts about the blond chunnin.

"Too much pressure can be fatal to a shinobi of his age, Jiraiya. Itachi is a prime example." Jiraiya couldn't help but to agree with his teammate.

"I agree Tsunade, but it's either train him to the bone or keep an Anbu Team with him and I don't even think it'd be enough to protect him against Itachi. I'm sure it won't be a problem, though, as in Itachi's case, he had the Uchiha Clan the entire time pressuring him for results. In Naruto's case, the only one who's pressuring him for results is himself." Jiraiya said as he now saw Naruto fighting his bunshin using only fire jutsu while the clones used only earth based jutsu. Shizune was already catching up with the sannin from fear of being in the crossfire. "He never stops training until he faints. For instance, just before I met you, he was training to perform the Rasengan. He managed to finish the first two stages in only one day, before he passed out when we arrived in Tanzaku Town." Tsunade had heard enough and kept looking ahead of her. She needed to prepare herself for the onslaught of emotions that will certainly come once they cross the gates.

* * *

**===In Konoha===**

After a total of four hours from Tanzaku Town, the group had arrived in Konoha.

Shizune and Tsunade took a moment to readjust their stances as memories began to overcome their minds. Jiraiya, in the meantime, told Naruto that he was free to go home and rest since he would take care of things from now on. The expression 'take care of things' involved taking Tsunade to meet with the council of elders and get her accustomed to her new life here in Konoha. Obviously, a chunnin's presence during these procedures was uncalled for. Naruto simply nodded and left the group, after a quick 'bye' to the two hypnotized females of the group. He didn't wait for any sign of acknowledgment as he realized that from the way they were looking around, it was clear that neither of them were paying much attention to him.

Despite Naruto's never ending stamina, Naruto had been through a lot in this mission, facing not only Itachi and Kisame, but also Orochimaru and Kabuto.

His mind needed rest for now. He calmly walked throughout the streets, wondering about nothing else but his bed. He made a quick pit stop at the ramen stand and greeted Teuchi and Ayame. Both father and daughter could see the fatigue in Naruto's face, so they didn't push too much for a conversation. Naruto was inside his apartment and quickly jumped to his bed, before releasing a long and released sigh. He was about to close his eyes when he heard the noise of someone materializing inside his room. Naruto was tackled by the small white tiger that he played with in Tanzaku Town. Naruto sighed and looked up, only to see Shirotora in the room as well.

"I know I said that I would watch him for you from time to time, but it has to be now?" The big tiger simply nodded, before vanishing. Naruto swore he saw his partner laughing.

Rubbing his eyes a bit, Naruto got up from his bed and tried to take as much energy of the tiger as possible, so that he could have some shut eye. The plan backfired, though, when half an hour later, the little devil simply wouldn't stop bouncing. Not seeing another viable alternative, Naruto activated the sharingan and placed a hypnotizing genjutsu at the small tiger. The small fur ball was asleep before he knew it. Naruto smirked at it and also fell asleep. If Shirotora appeared, he would simply see that his son was tired and had fallen asleep. Naruto closed his eyes and fell asleep immediately, not noticing the crow that kept watching him through the window, before flying away to meet its master.

* * *

**===With Itachi===**

The crow took a bit of time to cross the hidden village in the leaves and a few miles outside the village, to reach its destination.

Itachi was inside some cave alone, waiting for it to arrive. When the crow arrived, Itachi used his sharingan and looked at the crow's eyes, seeing everything he needed to know about what happened to Naruto since last time. The former Anbu Captain acknowledged Naruto's improvement in his fight against Orochimaru's second in command Yakushi Kabuto, even if Kabuto wasn't taking the fight as seriously as he would against a jounin level shinobi. Naruto's constant search for improvement made Itachi believe that in a few more years, Naruto would be able to hold his own against a jounin level shinobi, perhaps even keep up with the members of Akatsuki. However, Itachi reasoned that Naruto's improvement still wasn't enough for the challenges ahead of him. Skill and strength alone doesn't dictate the outcome of a battle better than experience. Naruto needed to constantly face opponents that could kill him at any time.

Constantly training with comrades was fine, but the chunnin needed to face adversaries that want nothing but his death.

Itachi knew that his actions were both against Akatsuki and against Konoha, but if he wanted Naruto to improve faster, he needed the boy to be have as much experience as possible. Placing Naruto in the bingo book as a B-ranked shinobi would no doubt attract the attention of many out there. Itachi hoped that within three years from now when Akatsuki begins to hunt the jinchuuriki, Naruto will be more than ready to face the members of the organization. Itachi was confident that the kid wouldn't be killed until then.

* * *

**===The next day===**

Naruto had woken up the next day, surprised with himself when he saw the sun just on the verge of rising outside.

It was the first time he had slept so much, since he had two factors that always kept him away from the bedroom. One was the constant nightmares of the Uchiha incident, to which Naruto was already accustomed to. He had memorized the images that came with Sasuke's eyes. The other reason was his never ending stamina that never allowed him to get tired, well not physically tired at least. The mind still remained a fragile organ that needed the rest. The chunnin didn't take long to get dressed and leave the apartment, towards nothing really. Just as he closed the door, though Naruto realized that he had nothing to do for the day. Tsunade was still due to be nominated for Hokage, so the missions were put on hold until then.

Deciding to take a walk around the village and perhaps find someone to talk to, Naruto bumped right into Kakashi and Kasumi as the couple was passing by his building.

"Well, Naruto, we were hoping to catch you for some breakfast but it seems that you caught us. Want some?" Kakashi smirked at his little brother figure. Naruto smiled at the invitation and nodded.

The three began to talk about Naruto's mission to find Tsunade and the enemies he faced throughout the mission. Kasumi and Kakashi were startled to hear that Itachi appeared together with a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist Hoshigaki Kisame. Naruto told them how he had to resort to the help of his summon, before Jiraiya appeared and forced them to flee. Kasumi in particular was irritated at the damn pervert for being tricked by Itachi's genjutsu. According to Naruto, Itachi had placed a genjutsu on a woman and controlled her to flirt with the sannin. Seriously, if Naruto wasn't able to hold his own, she wouldn't rest until she closed all of Jiraiya's tenketsu for good. Kasumi had to stop, though, when she realized that she was releasing killing intent and was making the population uncomfortable. Kakashi and Naruto were beginning to sweat, since they knew never to piss her off, even if Kakashi secretly has a fetish for seeing her angry.

"Jiraiya-sama told me you showed great progress, huh. You even learned the rasengan during the trip, didn't you?" Naruto nodded with a smile.

The three shinobi stopped inside a nice place for some breakfast where they met Kurenai and Asuma there as well. It was rather funny to see both getting red faced at Kakashi's insinuation of a date. It was even more amusing when Asuma drastically changed the subject and asked about Naruto's training as well as his mission to find Tsunade of the Sannin. Naruto smirked at the attempt, but gave his sensei some help, relaying the story once more as everyone placed their orders.

* * *

**===At the Hokage's Office===**

Taking the same seat as her old sensei, Tsunade couldn't help but look up and see herself next to her old teammates as they reported a successful or failed mission. The day before was entirely filled with getting the perks of the job from the old fossils from the council as well as to inspect the Hospital facilities and the patient' treatment. Shizune was right now running the place and forming a report for Tsunade about the main diseases being treated at the moment as well as the number of shinobi currently being attended. Now, Tsunade was slowly reading the many reports left by her predecessor. The woman couldn't simply take a look at every report, so she focused on the still pending ones and hoped to be filled in slowly about the past events.

"Morning there princess, how does it feel to be wearing the hat?" Jiraiya asked just as he entered through the window.

"Slightly overwhelming; however nothing too strenuous that I can't handle. It's good that you arrived as I've meant to speak to you about something important." Jiraiya smiled as he grabbed the book that Tsunade handled for him to see. "This morning, I took an updated version of the bingo book to recollect those to look out for out there and even those who were already dead. Imagine my surprise when I saw an interesting new enter. Please open at page number 302." Jiraiya saw the serious look on Tsunade's face and complied, already feeling that something bad was about to happen. Years of experience allowed senior shinobi to anticipate when bad things were about to happen. This was one of those times as Jiraiya opened the page and saw a picture of Naruto listed as a B-ranked shinobi. Quickly reading, Jiraiya frowned as Naruto's skills were practically all there: Sharingan, earth and fire ninjutsu, genjutsu and kenjutsu.

"Do you think Orochimaru is the one responsible for this?" Jiraiya asked. Tsunade shrugged her shoulders.

"Not a clue, but it's possible. Tell me one better way of killing someone without getting your hands dirty in the process?" Jiraiya frowned, but couldn't help but agree with the comment. "It seems that Naruto's enemy list just got higher as now every missing-nin, bounty hunter and even other villages will target him for his reward. We don't have another choice but to increase his training, even more than he already does. I have an idea of what to do with him, but I was hoping to run by them with you." Jiraiya nodded, allowing her to continue. "I was thinking of placing in a chunnin first response team under the leadership of a Jounin or even Tokubetsu Jounin. If Naruto is attacked during one of their missions, then his team will be better equipped to handle the opposition."

"A sound plan; I was hoping to take him away with me for a training trip, though. I heard from one of my contacts that the Akatsuki won't be hunting the jinchuuriki for another three years."

The proposition of keeping Naruto on the constant run and under a sannin's protection was nice as well, but now that the Akatsuki wouldn't hunt Naruto for three years, being under the sannin's protection wasn't necessary.

"It would be good as well, but I believe it to be unnecessary, Jiraiya. You can better protect him by keeping your spy network prepared for any action moved against him. Do you have anyone you can talk to inside the Bounty Stations?" Jiraiya nodded. He knew about a person who happened to have a contact inside the black market bounty station and knew a lot about who was the target of the hour. If Naruto was chosen, this guy would tell Jiraiya. He was slightly saddened that he wouldn't be spending time with his godson, but he figured that he could come to Konoha and make a visit once or twice a year.

"Do you have the names for his team?" Tsunade nodded as she grabbed the notebook that contained the list of the shinobi force.

"First, I checked the more experienced Jounin that weren't responsible with a genin team. Shiranui Genma can be the leader of the squad. Before you say anything, yes I know that he was chosen by the Yondaime for the Hiraishin. This was precisely why I have chosen him for the assignment. Aside from working closely with the Yondaime, Genma's record is quite impressive. He has also the attributes of a nice captain, even if he's only a Special Jounin." Jiraiya nodded. He remembered when Genma, chunnin at the time of the Yondaime, was chosen by Minato to receive the Hiraishin formula. He was a fine choice for team leader. As for Naruto's chunnin partners, Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo; from what I gathered, these two work well in coördinated attacks. Naruto is kind of a jack of all trades and should fit in well with these three." Jiraiya thought for a while, before looking at Tsunade with a smile on his face.

"Looks like your time away hasn't diminished your abilities, princess; it's a fine assessment indeed." Tsunade nodded at the pervert, before asking him to be gone so that she could read the rest of the reports. The pervert was already at the window with a perverted giggle on his face when he received a punch from Tsunade, followed by a warning not to go peek on women. Jiraiya nodded quickly, before vanishing from the window quickly. The wounds he received from Tsunade when he tried peeking on her were still fresh in his mind, even though it happened a long time ago. Tsunade snorted at her teammate, before going back to her reports.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

After leaving the jounin, Naruto began to wander throughout the village once more. With nothing left to do, since Kakashi and Kasumi practically used rank on him not to exert himself training today, Naruto was left with perhaps finding someone he knew to see how things were. According to Asuma, his old teammates were last seen travelling with their parents for an extended training trip to further increase the Ino-Shika-Chou formation. According to Asuma, Shikamaru was complaining a lot since both Ino and Chouji's level of workout was far greater than his own. Naruto smiled at that and said that he missed his old teammates. His remembered that he owed Itsuko lunch, but he imagined that the woman was busy in Anbu now. One sad part of training as a hobby, was that he couldn't do it if his body went against him. Because of this, Naruto was left with nothing to do. He looked up to see his path and saw, much to his surprise, Itsuko waving at him from inside a sushi stand.

Apparently, she was alone.

"Hi there Itsuko, I thought you were working now?" Naruto said as he sat next to her. The woman rarely used clothes that didn't belong in the battlefield. She was wearing the standard jounin uniform.

"Boss gave us the day off after a tough assignment we had yesterday. So…tell me, I heard you were quite busy having your ass kicked during the mission."

Naruto snorted at first, but smiled soon after. One thing he caught on about her was that she enjoyed making rude comments.

"Well, when you face Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame all alone, simply getting out alive is considered a feat. I was lucky that they didn't want to kill me." Itsuko widened her eyes and ordered one more round of sushi while she heard the entire story. "Also when we found Tsunade, we ended up facing Orochimaru of the Sannin and his second in command Yakushi Kabuto, whom I believe participated in the chunnin exams as a Konoha shinobi." Itsuko nodded, all too shocked to hear it straight from the horse's mouth. She had to stop listening to rumors of some jerks in her unit saying that Naruto got thrashed around and was saved by Jiraiya. Apparently, no one believed Naruto's entry to the bingo book to be real. "When I fought Kabuto, I had thrown everything I had at him and the man would simply get up without any damage on his body. It appeared though that he wasn't expecting me to put much of a fight as he didn't move much. In the end, Tsunade overcame her fear of blood and joined in the battle. Orochimaru escaped with Kabuto and we came here shortly after." Naruto finished as he placed a salmon sushi inside his mouth.

Frankly, he didn't get why Itsuko enjoyed this type of food so much.

"Who would believe that Kabuto was a traitor? He fooled everyone, including the Sandaime Hokage. No doubt, he was trained by Orochimaru." Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, I was surprised as well. And what about here? Any news since I left, that isn't bound by Anbu secrecy?"

Itsuko smirked at the chunnin. It sure was fun talking to him.

"Nothing much…a team found an entire platoon of Iwa genin lead by one jounin trying to see how Konoha was fairing despite the invasion. Shirakumo Hayama happened to be leading a scout mission nearby and scared them away. Aside from that, and Anbu secret stuff as you put it, nothing much happened." Naruto nodded with a smile. He didn't know much about this jounin Hayama, except that he was an experienced jounin that fought in the last great ninja war together with Kakashi. His big brother shared some stories about Hayama as being one of the few wind users in Konoha, aside from Naruto's sensei Asuma.

And so, Naruto and Itsuko kept chatting about everyday occurrences followed by some theories behind the ninja arts. Both were chatting amicably with one another, getting to know each other better, not realizing that the time passed by faster than both realized. Eventually, Itsuko said that she had to go run some personal errands and Naruto went back to his apartment to relax for the day. He wasn't supposed to strain his chakra coils by any means, so Naruto was left with nothing to do, except to sleep and hope that time passed by quickly. As he walked back to his apartment, though, Naruto smiled as he remembered how nice it was to spend the entire afternoon talking with Itsuko. All the time, he didn't realize that he was being spied by Kasumi's byakugan eyes a fair distance away. Naruto's sister figure was startled when she used her eyes to search for Kakashi, only to find her little brother hanging out with an older woman inside a sushi stand.

At first, she was enraged that this girl was taking advantage of Naruto like that, but then she took the time to observe them as they shared a conversation together. In the end, Kasumi smiled when he saw the look on Naruto's face as he left. Her little brother was growing up. Still, Kasumi wanted to run some background checks on the girl just to be sure that Naruto isn't falling for someone that isn't worthy in her eyes.

* * *

**===Two days later===**

Two days later and after the Hokage's official nomination, Naruto was scheduled to meet with his new team according to what Kakashi told him. Naruto became aware of his entry in the bingo book as a B-ranked target and couldn't help but smirk at the situation. Sure, it would suck to be hunted by many other enemies, as he was told to expect, but he at least knew where he stood among the other strong shinobi out there. Kakashi was listed as an A-ranked shinobi, bearing on S-ranked in the future. As soon as Naruto jumped from the last building, he saw three shinobi waiting for him on top of the Hokage's Office Building. According to Kakashi, this team was formed by Tsunade personally, and would serve as a first response team. The term 'first response', Naruto learned, was actually one of the toughest types of assignments in Konoha.

First response teams were more common when the wars were occuring and any failed missions ended in shinobi getting killed or captured for interrogation.

As soon as he arrived, he made sure to present himself towards the only person he knew from the group, which happens to be the leader of the team.

"Chunnin Uzumaki Naruto reporting for duty Genma-taichou." Naruto said as he kneeled right in front of the laid back captain Shiranui Genma, who was busy chewing his senbon. Genma smirked at the kid he saw from the last chunnin exams. When he received word from the new Hokage that he would be leading a first response team, Genma was kind of glad to hear that he would be working with Naruto. Aside from him being the Yondaime's offspring, the kid's skills surprised the jounin when he managed to beat a Hyuuga prodigy. Also, Naruto's late accomplishments only allowed Genma to project the kid's future. No doubt, Naruto would be a legend similar to his father.

"At ease Uzumaki and fall in line."

Naruto nodded and got up before standing next to his chunnin peers Izumo and Kotetsu. He quickly greeted both as the three heard Genma.

"As you may or may not know, Tsunade-sama formed this squad precisely for first response type situations. As such, our range of assignments will be limited to backing other teams up and saving those in dire straits. This actually will be the first and only first response team, so I can say in advance that we can get the call at any minute. Since time is of the essence for us, each of you will be branded with Anbu level seal on your wrist. When it's activated, it means you three should abandon everything you're doing and report to the Hokage's Office in less than fifteen minutes." Genma was about to continue when Kotetsu elbowed Izumo and smirked at him.

"Hey Izumo, that means you have to abandon your girlfriend in the middle of sex and report." The comment made Izumo mad and he turned to yell at Kotetsu to stop playing around.

Naruto looked at the two and couldn't help but smile at their antics, even if he couldn't help but blush at the comment. He was slightly baffled as the image of Itsuko suddenly appeared in his mind. Genma cleared his throat, though he found the comment amusing as well. He did catch on Naruto's slight blush and remembered to tease Naruto in the future. This team formation would keep until Naruto was promoted to jounin, which would take a while, even if the kid had the skill. He needed the experience as well.

"Now, we'll be performing drilling exercises for the duration of this week, meant to test our individual and team skills. I expect the team to be operational by the end of the week."

All three chunnin nodded, before following their leader to the assembled training ground. Throughout the way, Naruto couldn't take the smile off his face at the future assignments.

* * *

**===Three Years Later===**

It's been three years since Naruto's first team meeting and the boy now turned man's routine was astounding. Even if he was still a chunnin, everyone was hard pressed to consider him as such, if his accomplishments were anything to go by. Naruto's first assignment with his new team happened to consist of backing up a team of jounin that were sent to protect a caravan of merchants as they travelled close to Water Country. The caravan was ambushed by some missing-nin from Kiri, so Naruto's team was sent to back them up. The fight overall was brutal, but Naruto managed to keep up the pace, even managing his fair share of kills against B-ranked missing-nin. At the time, his face was recognized from the bingo book and the missing-nin targeted him specially. After dealing with the opposition, Naruto's team finished the other team's mission and returned to Konoha with the wounded.

Since then, Naruto's team was sent on a considerable amount A and even S-ranked first response assignments.

Each of them more dangerous than the last and Naruto went through hell and back.

One specific assignment close to Iwagakure went badly as both Izumo and Kotetsu were beaten pretty badly and Genma had to protect a genin team against a jounin level shinobi. Naruto was facing three chunnin on his own. The chunnin weren't that special individually, but their teamwork was unparalleled. Naruto's sharingan was enough to follow two enemies, but he couldn't follow three at the same time. The team of chunnin was gaining on him, but thanks to his earth manipulation abilities, Naruto was able to block every strike to his body by using his stone armor technique. His attacks were deadly as Naruto's ability to cast genjutsu by simply looking at the enemy rendered them useless against his fire techniques. Naruto managed to deal with the Iwa-nins, but Genma couldn't save one of the genin from being killed. The mission was a success, but Naruto took the genin's death seriously.

His assignment consisted basically in bringing them back alive, not in a body bag.

That specific mission got to him and Naruto vowed himself to train even harder to save as many people as possible. In between assignments, the chunnin would be seen training his ass off. It was this drive that allowed Naruto to create his first magma release technique called **Youton Inseitokkan (Magma Release: Meteor Rush). Naruto's technique allowed him to throw boulders covered by magma at the enemy. Everyone was shocked to see this accomplishment and some were in favor of promoting Naruto to Tokubetsu jounin in ninjutsu and even genjutsu. To Naruto, the only thing that mattered was saving as many people as possible. Thus, if people believed that his workout before was inhuman, nowadays his training regimen nearly doubled. Naruto wouldn't allow any death to befall his team anymore, receiving worried glances from his loved ones.**

Naruto didn't train until exhaustion because he could be summoned any time to rescue another team.

In no time, people began to acknowledge Naruto's actions and how he helped save a lot of wounded shinobi in the field. His first response team was highly recognized for its efforts and both Izumo and Kotetsu were promoted to jounin because of it. The only reason Naruto still wasn't one was because of his experience. However, his skills were indisputable. His fire and earth ninjutsu capabilities were pretty much on par with the elite jounin and even the Sandaime Hokage as people began to compare him to. His sword and close combat skills only increased in time as Naruto's sharingan allowed him extra speed against his opponents.

Right now, the high level chunnin was sleeping in his bed as he was dead tired from yesterday's assignment close to the village borders. Still, Naruto didn't require much time to sleep. He opened his eyes even before the alarm clock reached the six o' clock mark. He didn't allow it to ring, because he didn't want to wake his girlfriend up. He and Itsuko started dating one year ago, at Izumo and Kotetsu's insistence. These two and Itsuko happened to be on the same genin team under Shikamaru's father Shikaku. To this day, Naruto is still constantly teased by his comrade. Izumo less so, since he cared a lot for Itsuko, considering her like his sister. It was funny to see Kotetsu angering his partner by insinuating the number of sexual positions that Naruto and Itsuko were attempting together. Even their captain Genma joined in on occasion, when the mission was over.

Of course, Naruto wasn't that far ahead in the bed department, since his first time was actually two weeks ago, but it was fun to see the look of anger in Izumo's face.

Itsuko was even introduced to Kakashi and Kasumi as they happened to be Naruto's family. Kakashi recognized her as a junior Anbu when he was close to retiring from the special forces. Kasumi, though, went through a bunch of questions about her. Itsuko, though, didn't take it lightly at the time. Kakashi did the wrong thing and giggled at the scene, so Kasumi and Itsuko both pounded on him for being a pervert. Well, Itsuko did wait for Kasumi to start the attack, but still. Since then, Kasumi approved of Naruto's relationship with Itsuko. They are now the best of friends, even going to the public baths together when Itsuko is free from Anbu. Naruto even remembered an amusing moment when Jiraiya tried peeping on them. Kasumi used her byakugan and sealed all his tenketsus. The funniest, though, was that Tsunade even congratulated the Hyuuga for her actions.

The blond chunnin stopped wondering about the past events when his wrist tattoo flared once more.

Naruto quickly got up from bed and went straight to the bathroom to wash himself and dress up in less than five minutes. Quickly finishing two power bars, Naruto got out from his bedroom fully dressed and ready to go. His outfit now consisted of the standard Konoha attire with a few changes. Instead of navy blue, his clothes were fully black below the light green vest. His swords now hidden inside black scabbards, were strapped to his vest in a cross shape. Last year, Naruto considered a better adjustment of his swords. For instance, while he had a kodashi, able to both attack and defend, he believed it was better to replace his wakizashi for another kodashi. Since it was Kakashi who gave them, Naruto felt inclined to explain his reasons to the elite jounin. Kakashi nodded with a smile at the request. He bended both sleeves twice just like Kakashi, before appearing by his girlfriend's side.

"Itsuko-chan…I have a mission now." The Anbu woke up immediately at the words, before seeing her boyfriend already changed and ready to go.

She didn't even hear him move at all.

"Okay Naruto-kun, be careful."

Naruto nodded, before giving her morning kiss on her lips. After closing the door to his apartment, Naruto used his body flicker straight to the Hokage's Office.

* * *

**===Hokage's Office===**

Naruto arrived in less than twelve minutes counting from the call sign and sighed when he saw the Hokage sleeping on her desk. His captain was already there since he happened to be one responsible for activating the seal in Naruto's wrist. Izumo and Kotetsu appeared just before the final fifteen minutes and mirrored Naruto's behavior. Shizune entered the office followed by Sakura. After extensive training in the genjutsu department from both Kurenai and Sakumo, it was discovered that Sakura's chakra control was second to none other chunnin or even jounin and thus she could apply for medical ninjutsu, tutored by the Hokage herself. In three years, Sakura had excelled in every step of the way, earning her rightful place as a medic-nin. Shizune soon went to awaken their leader to issue the first response team's next assignment.

"Hokage-sama, wake up, the first response team is here."

Tsunade mumbled some incoherent cursed to her assistant, before looking at the four assembled in front of her.

"Oh, right…a couple minutes ago, we received a call for backup. Asuma's chunnin team consisting of Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji and Yamanaka Ino were sent on a B-ranked document retrieval mission near the land of Birds. The mission consisted of simply grabbing the document, which contained relevant Intel about Kumogakure's actions. There was a risk that Kumo would find out and send a team to retrieve it, but we didn't believe them to move this quickly. Right now, the team is currently hiding at the location in the map held by Shizune. According to the message, Akimichi Chouji was injured and Yamanaka Ino is unconscious from misusing her clan technique. Asuma and Shikamaru took into hiding, but the enemy still lurks in the area. They won't let the document get away from their hands. Your mission is to first protect Team Asuma and if possible, retrieve the document. Genma, your team is to avoid any direct confrontation and only attack if attacked first." The captain nodded and received the map from Shizune, before turning to his team.

"The hiding place is two hours away from here; as usual time is against us. We need to make the trip in an hour; move."

No sooner had Genma shouted, four blurs left the office.

Tsunade waited for the wind generated by the shunshin to stop before turning to her assistant.

"Shikamaru was supposed to be here when Suna sends their ambassador for the upcoming chunnin exams. When is Temari supposed to arrive, Shizune?"

"Two days from now, Tsunade-sama. Are you sure Genma will bring them back?" Sakura remained quiet as she saw her master's response. Tsunade snorted at Shizune's doubt. If Tsunade could recall one good decision she made throughout her reign as Godaime Hokage, it was the formation of the first response team. Ever since those four were gathered, the number of deaths in the field decreased considerably. Their fast response allowed Genma's team to arrive quickly and provide the first team some backup. If possible, once the first team was secured, Genma's team could complete the mission the first team was sent out to. However, retrieving the injured shinobi was their first and greatest concern.

"I have the utmost faith that Team Asuma will be saved, Shizune now would you please bring some tea. My head is killing me."

* * *

**===Team Genma===**

As the captain instructed, it took the team one hour to reach the cave in which Asuma's team was hiding.

Since Naruto had the sharingan and the kage bunshin, he was asked to scout ahead for the Kumo enemies to pinpoint their position. Three kage bunshin immediately left their hiding position and ran towards different locations, while transforming into different tiger species. Naruto worked extensively under the Tiger Clan's tutelage and managed to learn some specific techniques that allowed one to increase his speed as well as his scent. The real one had his eyes closed and was guarded by his teammates, while the blond worked his magic. It took Naruto a total of five minutes before the bunshin dispelled and sent him the information.

"Genma-taichou, there are five of them scattered in two groups; three chunnin level, one jounin and one genin. The groups are searching for Asuma's team at this moment."

Genma was busy chewing on his senbon as he considered his options for the moment. He turned to Izumo as he was the tactician of the group.

"Any thoughts?" Izumo nodded as he turned to Naruto for more questions.

"Where is Asuma's team now, Naruto?" Naruto nodded and pointed to a mountain with a small hole in the middle, indicating a cave entrance.

"There are inside that cave, but I believe that Kumo has a sensor type shinobi. The only reason I believe they haven't been spotted yet is because Asuma and Shikamaru must be low in chakra. Ino and Chouji are unconscious." Izumo nodded and then turned to Genma for his plan. Their orders weren't meant to engage in combat against Kumo, so their course of action was limited to simply attract their attention for a while.

"Genma-taichou, we should divide in two as well. Naruto and you sir can attract their attention with diversion tactics while Kotetsu and I rescue them. After we rescue them, we send the signal."

"Izumo, why the hell do you always send me away from the fight?" Izumo smirked at his friend.

"Do you remember what happened when you fought against those Kiri-nins?" Kotetsu snorted at the memory. His close range abilities were rendered useless against those long range water techniques. In the end, Naruto managed to keep those guys occupied lifting earth barriers, while Genma went behind their backs and disabled them. At the time, Kotetsu was mocked by both Genma and Izumo until they reached the village with the injured chunnin team they managed to rescue. Izumo smirked at the downed face of his partner. "Don't be like this man. We can still have a piece of the action. Genma-taichou, shall we proceed?" The captain nodded, before they separated. As soon as Naruto and Genma arrived close to the Kumo team, their sensors stopped searching for Asuma's team and focused on the arrivals. Naruto did help by flaring his chakra for them. He couldn't allow the sensors to focus on Kotetsu and Izumo's presence as he could see them running towards the cave entrance.

The group of five Kumo-nin appeared in front of Naruto and Genma.

"Greetings, my name is Shiranui Genma and it seems that you're after one of ours. I'm afraid we cannot let them come to harm." Genma's hands were inside his pockets as he eyed the opposition.

"I'm Darui and I'm afraid we cannot do that, since one of your peers contain Intel about Kumogakure." The man who spoke happened to be the jounin as he possessed the largest chakra capacity from the group. He was black in skin color and his hair was white. Genma recognized the tattoo in the man's shoulder, as it once belonged to the Sandaime Raikage. Next to him, was a blond kunoichi, looking at Genma and Naruto with an icy expression in her eyes. The other two chunnin, also possessed a black skin color and both had long swords strapped to their back. The genin appeared to be the sensor as he was being protected by the three chunnin.

"Give it back…that scroll belongs to us." One of the chunnin screamed at the Konoha-nins. This time, it was Naruto who spoke, in a calm manner.

"That may be, but we cannot allow you to harm our shinobi."

Looking at their odds, Konoha had two while Kumo had four. The genin was being protected by them, so he was out.

"Unfortunately, we can't allow this chat to continue. You see, my leader will be very mad if Konoha gets a hand on that document." Genma signaled for Naruto to get ready. The two chunnin with the swords charged first, but Naruto could see the others flanking them from behind. Quickly activating the sharingan, which earned a gasp in surprise from Darui, since he recognized him from the bingo book, Naruto quickly went through hand seals, before gathering chakra inside his lungs. Naruto's movements were considered too fast for them to anticipate. The chunnin were still airborne and quite certainly, they would be burned alive.

_Katon Shiroi Hidan (Fire Release: White Fire Projectile Technique)_

The white fire projectile was targeted at the attacking chunnin who were in mid-air. Genma was already moving to intercept any that escaped. Darui used all his speed and appeared in front of Omoi and Karui, before releasing a water barrier technique. He managed to save the chunnin, while Samui was busy engaging Genma. The smoke from the technique enveloped everyone and Darui stood in front of the chunnin. This Naruto person had the sharingan and had the advantage. When the smoke was cleared, Naruto stood in front of the three with his sharingan activated. A quick flare from his eyes, rendered the Kumo team paralyzed, before Naruto vanished from his position. He used one of his swords and attacked the kunoichi right in the stomach. The pain Kamui received was enough to break her from the genjutsu, but Naruto was already in position to finish her. He moved his sword to finish when Darui suddenly appeared and parried the sword with his own.

The jounin quickly grabbed Naruto's body and charged enough lightning chakra in his hand to paralyze the chunnin. Naruto used a replacement technique and created some distance while making seals.

_Doton Yomi Numa (Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld Technique)_

Darui managed to jump away, but the chunnin and the genin didn't. Darui didn't think about saving them first, because of the threat.

"You need to save them quick." Naruto told Darui. "This technique works like quicksand. The harder they struggle, the deeper they sink." Darui looked at the threat in front of him before turning to see if the man was right. He gasped when he saw Omoi and Karui were struggling to keep the genin from sinking. However, they weren't fairing very well. Thinking quickly, Darui moved to take them away from the swamp before facing the threat from Konoha. However, both Naruto and Genma were already gone from the vicinity. Darui only saw an unconscious Samui resting by a tree, no doubt victim from the damned sharingan's genjutsu. Darui sighed as he imagined how pissed the Raikage will be. Darui remembered when this Naruto person went from B-ranked to A-ranked shinobi in the bingo books. He too was an A-ranked, but Naruto targeted the weaker link instead. Quickly tending to Karui's flash wound, while wondering why Naruto didn't move for the kill, Darui wondered if he should place an entry in Kumo's bingo book advising against facing him.

* * *

**===A few miles away from the battle===**

Izumo and Kotetsu formed a perimeter of defense around Team Asuma while waiting for Naruto and Genma to arrive. The bearded jounin received a soldier pill and had replenished half of his chakra capacity. Shikamaru received one as well and was busy tending to Ino and Chouji's wounds. Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji were still chunnin, being promoted together. Shikamaru had changed his outfit to the standard outfit as he knew it would be troublesome to think of a different outfit. Ino maintained her choice of purple clothing, adding fishnet outfit in her legs and below her chest area. She left her stomach open, though. Chouji wore what appeared to be gray armor with the symbol of food in front of it.

Asuma got up and looked at Izumo's direction.

"What are we waiting for?" Izumo and Kotetsu looked at the bearded jounin.

"Our captain and our teammate should be arriving soon." As they expected, Naruto and Genma shunshined close to their location, earning a smile from Asuma when he saw his prodigy student. Ever since Naruto was nominated for the First Response Team, Asuma tried to keep track with the kid's missions and improvements. The bearded shinobi was impressed and very proud of his once genin student. He also knew that Naruto would be promoted to jounin any day now.

Naruto quickly went to check on his old team, greeting Shikamaru while Genma moved to support Asuma. After making all the needed arrangements, Team Asuma was escorted back to Konoha, though Naruto was selected to take Chouji back, through whatever means possible. Of course, the blond chunnin snorted at the choice, using the speech that he was the youngest one of the group and thus the strongest because of his age. He saw the amused looks on his team's faces as well as Asuma's and Shikamaru's and wondered about Chouji's weight. He didn't mind carrying his old friend, though he would need the help of some clones for the job.

* * *

**Author Note**

Okay, I'll stop for now.

Tell me what you think. I know that I didn't mention the Mangenkyou Sharingan part yet, but I covered a lot of ground here and managed to create a situation for him to experience great pain. I now have to come up with the scene for it. Aside from that, Naruto is pretty strong now even without the mangenkyou sharingan. He managed to acquire a lot of experience throughout the time under jounin Genma's leadership. Now as we move forward in time, Naruto will start facing Akatsuki and Orochimaru once more. Is he ready to face foes that Itachi warned him about? Wait until next chapter to find out.

Please tell me what you think of everything and please do not hold back.

See ya.


	17. Problem in the Desert

**Author Note**

Hi there and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes.

The shippuuden arc is now among us in this story as I adapt the story to the events. Also, I'm still thinking about the event that will trigger Naruto's Mangenkyou Sharingan. Someone raised a valid question about the appearance of Naruto's Mangenkyou Sharingan, as well as the powers it will contain. The fact that he received Sasuke's eyes doesn't mean that Naruto's MS will be the same, nor will he have the same level of control that Sasuke had, regarding Ametarasu (even if Kishimoto called it Enton, I still believe is merely manipulating the black flames of Ametarasu). Now, without further a due, let us begin with the first shippuuden arc, Gaara's retrieval.

* * *

**Chapter 17 – Problem in the Desert**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

All that Naruto could see once he opened his eyes was that he was standing in some sort of sewer. He didn't recollect how he came to be in said location. The sounds of water drops echoed all around him as he saw nothing but pipes on the walls going through different directions. As his legs took him, the chunnin realized exactly where he was and how exactly he appeared here. He was now inside his mindscape and this was nothing but a manifestation of his soon to be conversation with the creature that lived inside of him, ever since he was born. Throughout the last three years, these conversations often occurred as the creature itself requested in exchange of aiding Naruto in the future. Of course, Naruto never had an event that required the fox's assistance, but still the conversations occurred. Kyuubi often chatted about historical subjects and theories about whatever Naruto wished to work on, that was chakra related.

When Naruto walked inside the room that housed the fox, he heard the distinguished sound of a throat clearing from within the cage. The fox always initiated the conversation.

"**It's a pleasure to make my jailor's acquaintance once more, Naruto. What is it that you wish to discuss now?" **Naruto looked to the giant white goblets with a confused expression.

"I was under the impression that it was you who had summoned me for something as I was asleep."

"**Yes, now I remember. I can see you managed to go far in your lava release training, though I would expect much better results, considering the amount of effort you direct to the subject." **In truth, Naruto not only focused in the practical term of merging the elements, but also on the theory behind it. There was no material or scroll available about the subject directly, forcing him to study everything about both fire and earth elements, in hopes of better understanding the principle behind what merging these elements would be like. The first successful attempts came only after two years through nothing but trial and error, followed by a few visits to the hospital, because Naruto's chakra coils were too strained from overuse. Everyone considered that the only reason Naruto was still able to mold chakra was because Kyuubi would constantly repair the damage. Still, as far as Naruto was concerned, he now was able to use lava release, a feat that Kyuubi itself said was impossible.

"I really take solace in the notion that I now am able to use lava release techniques. I also take solace in the fact that you said it was impossible to do so." The blond chunnin was already on his way to creating a second technique. His theory is that since he can create mud from the ground, he could also use fire elemental composition and transform the mud into lava. If he manages it, he could send a river of lava below ground and catch the enemy from behind. His musings were cut short, however, when he heard a deeply amused laughter coming from the fifty foot fox behind the bars. Naruto was beginning to believe that the creature was having fits of laughter now.

"**How amusing young mortal for you to assume that training alone was enough to use kekkei genkai related ability." **

Kyuubi was still laughing, much to Naruto's frustration and annoyance at the fox's words.

"What are you saying, damn fox? You know how much I worked for this to become reality." Naruto was furious that someone dared to diminish the amount of effort he placed upon his training.

"**Your amount of training was no doubt impressive, but the most any normal human could amount to was mastery over your affinities. If through training, a kekkei genkai could be created; there wouldn't be any special breed in history nor even unique abilities. I already told you this and I will repeat it again and again, from pure enjoyment at seeing your disgruntled face right now. Only those with the kekkei genkai can ever hope to merge elements." **Naruto's arms and entire body were trembling at this point. His teeth were grinding. He worked until his body couldn't take it anymore; his chakra coils were almost on the verge of being ruined for life, forcing him to an early retirement.

There is simply no way what the Kyuubi said was true.

"Then please enlighten me, then. How was I able to manifest it if I do not possess the kekkei genkai?" Kyuubi released a sound of irritation at the question.

"**This is precisely the key question to our conundrum. How could you, indeed? The answer to your question in fact lies right in front of you." **It took a few seconds, but Naruto's expression was evident as he stared at the fox. "**Indeed, it was I who decided to bestow upon you the missing key in your DNA necessary for the ability to present itself. As I said before, through training, you could only reach maximum mastery over your elements, but nothing more. The reason I was able to present this gift was precisely because you trained the elements of fire and earth extensively. Without it, I wouldn't be able to do it." **Naruto was now relaxed somewhat at the notion that his training allowed for all this to happen. When he used it for the first time, no one believed it to be possible and Tsunade immediately performed a blood test to see for herself if it was true. The test came out positive, but she always had doubts, considering that none of Naruto's parents had it. Now that he learned the truth and solved the mystery, Naruto felt compelled to ask the fox another key question.

"Why did you help me?" The fox let out a questioning sound to Naruto's question.

"**I was under the impression that aiding you was precisely a part of our previous arrangement. In exchange for our conversations, I would aid you. This deal of ours operates under the underlying assumption that should you lose your life, my own would inexorably follow. I am merely securing my life as well as my newly added hobbies. For as much as I now understand of this world and its inhabitants, there are always new subjects to understand and learn, take you for example. The amount of effort you place over your training has nothing to do with personal gain, but merely to be of better use in protecting your peers and serving your leader. Even if a person declares himself as altruistic, his actions end up being the decisive point. You may take solace in the fact that your behavior set you above the majority of the human race."**

Now Naruto was stunned as he listened to the fox praising him for his actions. He was about to say something in response, but the fox beat him to it.

"**That is not to say that I will ever stop making your life miserable or even aid you more than I did thus far, because it's also a fact that your pathetic effort amuses me to no end. So, please tell me your next project. I could use another fit of laughter." **Naruto narrowed his eyes at the fox, but simply let it go. Now that he had the power of lava release, even if it was given to him, he would show to the fox that he was capable. He explained his second project to the fox, in extensive details, earning no comments from the fox while he explained what he had in mind.

* * *

**===Outside world===**

When Naruto woke up, he just settled for staring at the ceiling for a while. The conversation with the fox was still clear in his mind.

Naruto had overcome the initial shock of knowing that his yoton ability wasn't due to his extreme training routine, but rather a gift from the fox. With time, Naruto became proud of his acquired abilities as anyone would, considering the amount of effort he placed in his training. However, Naruto was above all a shinobi and as such, he would be remiss in not taking advantage of the situation, just like he did with the sharingan when the Uchiha genocide occurred. Aside from that, Naruto was surprised that Kyuubi wasn't amused when Naruto explained the second project. Normally, the creature would laugh at his attempts to overcome something that appeared impossible. **Yoton Kanseitaiga** (Magma Release: Lava River Trap Technique), Kyuubi's suggestion, would be performed below ground and then envelop the unsuspecting enemy. According to the fifty foot fur ball, the principle behind it was plausible enough, at least more than the first technique that Naruto used.

Looking at the clock in his room, Naruto smiled as he had plenty of time to practice the technique and even perfect it through the use of his clones.

Quickly going through the basic routine, Naruto left his apartment in twenty minutes. The sky was still dark outside, but the sun would be coming out any minute now, he reasoned. Even if Konoha had an extensive military force, there were only a precious few that enjoyed waking at the brink of dawn for training. Two of these people happen to live in the same building. Naruto saw Maito Gai and briefly extended a greeting, before jumping towards the closest roof. Naruto knew enough not to remain, unless he wanted to hear how youthful he was for training at such early hours. Once he arrived at his favored training ground, he went through basic stretches and chakra control exercises to get his body used to the strain. For the technique to work, he would have to consider the first steps of earth manipulation and start from there onward. He would have to manipulate it underground and control the exact location that the lava river will erupt; behind the enemy.

Summoning close to fifty bunshins, Naruto went to work.

* * *

**===Tsunade's office===**

Three hours later after Naruto woke up; the entire village was already up and about.

Tsunade, of all people, was awake as well, going over some reports with Shizune and Sakura by her side. The three medic-nins were going over some medical charts from a chunnin team that arrived yesterday from Grass Country, almost on the verge of death. It was only due to Tsunade's mastery in how to extract poisons that she managed to stabilize them. Afterward, both Shizune and Sakura took turns in monitoring their status. Sakura was about to report on her findings, when a chunnin barged inside with a scroll in his hand.

"Tsunade-sama, problem in Sunagakure, they are requesting assistance right away." The chunnin handed the scroll to the Hokage. Tsunade read it and immediately narrowed her eyes.

"Shizune, get me Genma's team, Hatake Kakashi and Hyuuga Kasumi here immediately. Akatsuki managed to infiltrate Sunagakure and captured Gaara." Tsunade's students both flinched at the news, before Shizune vanished from her office to call for Genma and Kakashi. Genma arrived shortly after Shizune's calling. Throughout the years, Genma had perfected the theory of the Hiraishin taught by the Yondaime Hokage and managed to replicate it. He couldn't quite use it repeatedly like the Yondaime and also not for long distances. Genma's version was like a faster shunshin. He then activated the seal that called his teammates. Two minutes later, Naruto, Izumo and Kotetsu appeared at the same time. Kakashi and Kasumi appeared last. Kasumi's annoyed look directed at Kakashi showed that the woman had to force her lover into showing up early. Tsunade appeared amused at the scene, but didn't comment on it.

"Glad all of you came on such short notice…I had just received a scroll from Sunagakure requesting for assistance. Apparently, Akatsuki infiltrated the village last night and captured Gaara. According to the Kazekage, Suna lost too many of their strongest shinobi in the invasion three years ago and do not possess the available man power to take on S-ranked shinobi. Kakashi will be the leader of this mission and Genma, the second in command. You all must go to Sunagakure and obtain as much information as possible, before searching for Gaara. Time is of the essence here." Everyone nodded, before Kakashi took a step forward and turned to his temporary subordinates.

"Meet me in half an hour at the gates, pack light." Only Kasumi vanished, since Genma's team was already packed and ready to move. Their missions were always like these anyway.

"Another thing, Kakashi…" The Jounin turned to see the Hokage. "Sabaku no Temari had just left the village towards Suna, so there is a possibility you'll meet up with her. She will most likely wish to tag along." Kakashi nodded before he and Genma's team vanished from the room in a shunshin towards the gates to wait for Kasumi. Once alone, Tsunade kept her hands holding her chin as she pondered on the current events. Three years had passed since Akatsuki's last appearance. Throughout the entire time, no one saw anyone wearing black robes with red clouds. They simply vanished. Now, Tsunade feared that whatever the organization planned throughout the three year would come to fruition. Was Suna their only target right now? She couldn't know and that was the worst, not knowing what they would do next. Jiraiya would have to come with answers soon, since Konoha was pretty much shooting blind as far as Akatsuki was concerned.

* * *

**===Team Kakashi=== **

As soon as Kasumi reached the gates, the shinobi task force travelled immediately towards Sunagakure. There wouldn't be any time to waste, which meant that everyone would have to travel almost continuously. Genma and his team were prepared for situations like this, but Kakashi and Kasumi were not. Kakashi was used to it when he was a part of Anbu, but that was far too long ago for comfort. Kakashi, being the leader, assigned Naruto upfront because of his Sharingan and Kasumi in the back because of her Byakugan. The rest would travel in the middle, with Izumo and Kotetsu covering Naruto while Kakashi and Genma provided cover for Kasumi. Because of the strain in her chakra, Kasumi had to disable her eyes from time to time, unless she wanted to fall behind the group. The amount of rest they got this day was only when they met Temari on the way, and Kakashi had stopped for ten minutes to explain what happened.

Temari would be by Naruto's side, since she knew her way into the desert, being a Suna-nin and all.

While traveling, she turned to Naruto and saw him focused on the task in hand with his sharingan activated.

The Suna Jounin didn't know much about the blond, only seeing him in the chunnin finals and his entry in the bingo book as an A-ranked shinobi. She remembered hearing about his team's accomplishments in their first response type missions from her own peers at Sunagakure. Apparently, Naruto's team managed to rescue a team from Suna a year ago, that was suffering an attack from missing-nin close to Fire Country's side of the border. Shikamaru happened to speak highly of Naruto on occasions. He didn't appear very talkative, though, and Temari chose not to comment on anything.

"You are worried about him?" She heard his voice and wondered how he knew.

"How…?"

"With the sharingan, I can detect fluctuations in your chakra indicating distress behavior. Gaara is your brother, isn't he?" Temari nodded, not even bothered to hide how worried she was right now. Truth be told, Gaara wasn't any better than he was three years ago, as far as his personality was concerned. The only one who knew how to keep him calm was Baki-sensei, who was nominated as the Yondaime Kazekage. He nominated Gaara as the Kazekage's right hand, performing solo missions for him. Gaara just wouldn't be fit to operate within a unit, so it was the only likely conclusion. Still, the Ichibi Jinchuuriki was her little brother and she cared for him. Probably, she was the only person who did besides Baki-sensei. Even Kankuro, their brother, couldn't stand Gaara any longer.

"Even if Gaara isn't the most social person around, yes he is still my brother and I care for his well-being. I still wonder how strong Akatsuki is to have captured him?

Ever since he was released from Konoha, he was immersed in the middle of the desert training." Naruto nodded, wondering about his current opposition. He only knew Itachi as one of the members and wondered if the living Uchiha member was involved in Gaara's capture. Naruto had one important goal in his mind driving his training; he wanted to save as many people as possible. However, the ever-growing shadow of Uchiha Itachi had always been there. Every enemy Naruto faced in the past was compared to Itachi. So far, none had unnerved him such as that man. He figured that all S-ranked shinobi had that menacing aura that promised you nothing but sure death.

"I wonder about them as well as I came to know one of their members, Uchiha Itachi." Temari flinched at the name, now worrying even more about Gaara if Itachi was one of Akatsuki's members. "One thing I do know was that Itachi wasn't involved in Gaara's kidnapping, otherwise we would have known that by now. We weren't told about their identity, so we need to be prepared for anything." Temari nodded, before closing the conversation as the team had crossed the border towards the desert. From here onward, Temari would have to be the one guiding the party from Konoha, since they didn't have the luxury of time right now.

* * *

**===In Sunagakure===**

Inside the Kazekage's office, Baki was testing his patience while going over the reports after the sudden Akatsuki invasion. It all happened so fast that it still shocked the seasoned kage. Yesterday night was usual in Sunagakure. The sky was devoid of clouds and the moon was illuminating the entire desert scenario. The population was roaming without a care in the world throughout the many passageways, completely unaware that the white bird that hovered over the village was actually an Akatsuki member and S-ranked missing-nin of Iwagakure, by the name of Deidara. When the explosions occurred, Baki and a group of Jounin travelled towards the area only to bear witness to Gaara, the Ichibi Jinchuuriki, being captured by Deidara's white bird. Traces of the bijuu's chakra were all over the place, which worried Baki even more.

Because of the devastation, Baki's forces were entirely focused in securing the village and treating the wounded.

He didn't have the manpower to send after Akatsuki. For this kind of mission, Baki would need to send his strongest Jounin against perhaps the most feared organization in the world, formed of S-ranked shinobi. The Kazekage was trapped into a corner in this manner and was forced to rely on Suna's allies in Konoha for the job of retrieving Gaara from the Akatsuki. As a hardened veteran of the Third Great Ninja War, Baki had seen and done a lot. After the failed attempt to invade Konohagakure, the man believed that Konoha wouldn't think twice before overthrowing Suna, wiping them out for good for what they did, even if Orochimaru was behind the whole thing. Surely, it came as a surprise when the Godaime Hokage preferred a new formed alliance instead. Even if compensation was demanded, both financial and jutsu wise, Baki realized that the deal was more beneficial to Suna in the long run than even the results of a successful invasion to Konoha would have been. Having the strongest elemental nations as an ally was an advantage in its own.

The characteristic sound of someone kicking the door open shifted his focus away from the report as Temari barged inside, followed by the envoy from Konoha.

"Baki-sensei, what happened to Gaara?" The Kazekage ignored the question for the moment, as he looked at the team sent by Tsunade to take care of things. Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto were both notoriously known throughout the elemental nations. Tsunade, no doubt, was serious about Suna's request if she sent the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki to assist. Baki then turned to Temari and sighed, while looking at her with a narrowed expression.

"Akatsuki happened, Temari. One of their members came in from the sky and engaged in a fight with Gaara. Gaara even used the Ichibi's power but it wasn't enough apparently."

Kakashi, being the leader of the squad, stepped next to Temari.

"We'll begin the search for them right away, but first we need to know who the attacker was and which direction he left Suna." The Kazekage nodded in respect and told Kakashi everything, starting from the explosion until the time when Baki appeared only to see the bird flying away from the village, heading towards River Country's direction. Kakashi nodded and considered his next steps. Kasumi could use her eyes, but the Byakugan was limited in distance. He came up with the answer right away. "Kazekaga-sama, do you perhaps have anything that has Gaara's scent? With it, I can use my summons to track him down. Baki nodded and handed a piece of red fabric.

"This piece of fabric was found near the place when Gaara fought against the Akatsuki. It should help."

Kakashi nodded, before going through hand seals to summon Pakkun, which didn't waste time and immediately memorized the scent.

The dog was already working its magic when Kakashi turned to the Kazekage once more.

"We have knowledge that Akatsuki usually work in pairs. Do you happen to know if other members were spotted nearby?" Baki, though, shook his head.

"We are aware of this Intel as well, but no one saw anything. I have reason to believe, though, that whoever the second member was, he was a Suna missing-nin." Kakashi maintained his attention on Baki, waiting for clarification. "My theory is based on two aspects, with one being how easy it was for Deidara to sneak inside the village without alerting attention. Even if he came from the sky, there are always shinobi in random rooftops overseeing security. Deidara had prior knowledge about our security details. The second aspect is that we have sensor seals spread close to the village entrance. Whoever the person was and, knowing about our security details, would know the exact distance to avoid detection and support Deidara should the need arise." Kakashi nodded at the plausibility behind Baki's hunch. He even contributed to the hunch by limiting the missing-nin search to Jounin and above.

Security protocol was sensitive information.

"We'll run through the bingo book and have a look. Only a Jounin would be privy to such information, so we can easily narrow it down. I would suggest a change of security plans, afterward." Baki nodded, since it was more than proven that said secret wasn't a secret any longer. Kakashi, then, turned to his squad, acknowledging that Pakkun was ready to leave. "Okay team, here is how we'll proceed. Pakkun and Kasumi will take the lead. Kasumi, as soon as you see them with your byakugan, let me know. The rest will follow. They are at least one day ahead of us, so we must hurry. Let's go."

Konoha quickly left the room, following Pakkun leaving Temari and Baki alone.

* * *

**===Somewhere in River Country===**

Crossing the desert was considered a current endeavor for a Suna shinobi.

Because of the village's location, the only way to travel was by facing thousand miles of nothing but sand and the dry weather. The risk intensified, of course, as sandstorms were common. Sasori, despite being protected by his puppet, cursed the endless amount of sand as he and his even more annoying than the desert partner Deidara crossed the border of River Country, towards Akatsuki's hideout. The S-ranked puppet complained the entire way back. There was one thing he despised more than anything in the entire world and his annoying partner unknowingly so, reached the feat.

Sasori despised having to wait.

Being a master of the subtle arts of the shinobi, Sasori's actions were focused on wasting as little time as possible in doing what needed to be done. As such, he worked his poison arsenal to such a level that just a scratch would kill the enemy in less than ten seconds. Said fate was shared by two chunnin who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Two precisely aimed senbon to their necks and their lives were forfeit before either of them realized that it wasn't just a bug bite. Quickly sealing their bodies for future puppet material, Sasori was done with nothing left to do as he waited for his partner. Deidara's need for the theatrics ended with him prolonging the battle more than he should.

"The base is up ahead, let us hurry." Deidara was on top of the clay bird and smirked at his rather grumpy partner.

"I see you're still bitter about my art, Sasori-danna. You just have to appreciate the beautiful and exquisite art of the bang, yeah."

A grunt in annoyance was Sasori's only remark.

"You insist on calling those fireworks of yours art? True art endures the ages, beauty everlasting." Deidara smirked at that. He rather enjoyed his partner in crime as Sasori had his own views. The mad bomber would kill himself before being partners with a stuck up asshole like Itachi or even the bloodthirsty maniac Kisame. He enjoyed even more knowing that Sasori didn't care about him at all.

Within minutes, both were standing on top of a river facing a presumably normal looking mountain. Deidara worked quickly in performing a single hand seal using the hand with a ring on it. After sending some chakra to the ring, the jewel sent an image to the rock in front of them. All of a sudden, the rock opened on its own, revealling a beautifully looking cave inside. Deidara and Sasori entered the cave and by the end of the water path, there was a figure there waiting for them. The person's image was rather blurred, but the outfit was identical. When the individual turned to greet them, Deidara and Sasori took notice of the spiky looking hair and two purple eyes containing a ripple-like pattern which spreads over the eyeballs. It was overall quite menacing.

"You're late." The voice was strong and sounded as if it was being transmitted through a speaker. Sasori merely grunted in acknowledgment of their leader's statement.

"The Ichibi Jinchuuriki was much stronger than we anticipated, yeah. But that didn't save him from my art." The astral projection nodded, before showing his back to his subordinates.

The leader went through a long series of hand seals, before slamming his hand on the ground.

_Kuchiyose Gedo Mazo (Summoning Technique: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path)_

The entire cave started shaking as something rose from the ground. The statue was a giant, humanoid entity with most of its body looking decayed. The body was limited to only its upper torso and its arms. The statue's hands were joined together with its ten fingers turning towards the top of the cave. The statue's eyes were blind folded. The astral projection turned to Deidara and Sasori, before performing the same one handed seal that Deidara performed earlier.

"Assemble…" The order was clear, reaching out to all members of the fearful organization. Within seconds, six more astral projections appeared, before Deidara and Sasori joined them in their respective fingers. The other images showed two familiar faces in both Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi. Itachi was similar to the leader as only his hair frame and sharingan eyes were visible.

"Well…well, you don't look too good Deidara…was the little Ichibi too much for you?" The mad bomber snarled at the jab and was about to retort when the leader interrupted.

"There is no time for this. Now, since Orochimaru is no longer with us, the entire procedure will take longer than expected, probably up to three days." That thought alone made everyone wince, but none said a word. While they were all S-ranked, only Kisame was known for his enormous chakra capacity. It was for this precise reason that the procedure would rely on him to supply the majority of chakra. "Let us proceed." The leader announced, before going through hand seals sequence.

_Fuuinjutsu Genryuu Kyuu Fuujin (Sealing Technique: Complete Nine Mystical Dragon Seal)_

The technique actually involved all nine sources of charka in perfect synchronicity, so everyone was performing it. The statue's mouth suddenly started to glow purple, before nine spectral dragons came out of it, heading towards the unconscious Gaara. After the impact, Gaara was enveloped in some sort of sphere made from the same energy, without knowing that little by little, the Ichibi was being released from his very body.

* * *

**===With Konoha's team===**

Two and half days after leaving Sunagakure, the team from Konoha was a few miles short of crossing the border with River Country.

Pakkun managed to get Gaara's scent and pointed out the right direction. The trail went cold, though, when the rivers started showing. Pakkun's sense of smell was interrupted by the water flow, forcing everyone to focus on Kasumi's byakugan. Her eyes couldn't see much further than a mile but, luckily for everyone, she was able to sense demonic chakra being used close by. In no time, the team was standing on a cliff while Kasumi pointed the cave in which Gaara was being held. Neither of them, however, noticed that some of the vegetation nearby wasn't moving like the rest.

* * *

**===Inside the cave===**

The procedure was still taking its course when one of the astral projections spoke. It was a strange creature, appearing to be a gigantic venus fly trap, wearing black robes with red clouds.

"We have company. **It appears Konoha possesses some fine trackers to arrive here so soon.**" When the fly trap opened, two halves of what appeared to be human could be seen; one white and another black. The white half was the one who spoke first. The leader acknowledged the threat and turned to Itachi and Kisame to take care of the visitors. They needed more time for the procedure to end.

"Itachi and Kisame, you two will go and keep them occupied. Zetsu, what can you tell about them?" Kisame smirked at the incoming fight while Itachi remained impassive.

"Hatake Kakashi and the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki are among them. The rest are all Jounin and part of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki's first response team." Itachi's sharingan blazed briefly at the mention of Naruto, but no one appeared to notice it. Unknown to everyone, Itachi kept watching over Naruto's training, even if indirectly. He had knowledge of what Naruto could do, but this would be the first time he would engage Naruto in full combat. This was Naruto's first trial.

* * *

**===Konoha's Team===**

Kasumi was leading the team from Konoha, until the woman gasped in shock at the image up ahead.

She soon stopped onto the closest tree branch, forcing her team to do so as well.

"Kakashi, there are two Akatsuki agents up ahead, blocking our path. Uchiha Itachi is one of them, but I don't recognize the other one." Kakashi looked to Naruto briefly and noticed a fierce resolve in the blond chunnin's eyes. Kasumi reported what she found out about the other one. "He is taller than Itachi. His chakra capacity rivals Naruto-kun and carries what appears to be sentient sword on his back. The sword has a chakra capacity of its own."

"It's Hoshigaki Kisame, former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist." Kasumi looked at Naruto. "When I travelled with Jiraiya to search for Tsunade, Itachi and Kisame approached me. Akatsuki work in pairs and the description matches." Everyone nodded, while Kakashi pondered on the course of action to take from here. They needed to retrieve Gaara from within the cave. He sighed in resignation since the odds suddenly turned against them. They needed to pass through both Itachi and Kisame first. That alone expanded the mission to S-ranked. He had to try with the resources at his disposal, though.

"Kasumi, can you see what's going on inside the cave?" She nodded.

"Gaara is in the middle of the cave and it's being enveloped in some sort of energy. From the looks of it, it's draining his energy or something. I can't really describe it."

"It appears that this is the procedure meant to take the bijuu away from the jinchuuriki. We will need to hurry here. We need to take care of these two quickly, before moving forward. As it stands, simply dividing in two groups of three won't be enough. I believe Kisame is the biggest threat here, so everyone except Naruto will focus on him." Everyone gasped at the order, as it left Naruto alone against Uchiha Itachi. Before Kasumi could protest (or kill Kakashi for the suggestion), Kakashi explained his reasons. "Itachi is indeed a feared opponent, but his expertise revolves around the sharingan mostly. Naruto can hold him off until we get rid of Kisame." The only one who didn't protest was Naruto, who simply nodded at the team captain. Perhaps it was the sharingan in him, but the chunnin always wanted to face tougher opponents.

"I'm ready." Kakashi nodded.

"Could you do the honor of splitting them up, Naruto? He was already going through the hand seals, while everyone was already moving.

_Doton Doryuu Dango (Earth Release: Mausoleum Earth Dumpling Technique)_

Naruto placed both hands on the ground and managed to lift a considerably sized boulder, before throwing it in Itachi and Kisame's direction. Standing in the middle of a clearing, both Itachi and Kisame were patiently waiting for the opposition when suddenly Naruto's earth boulder appeared in front of them, knocking a few trees. Kisame smirked and looked at Itachi, who was staring at the impending doom represented by the earth bulldozer.

"What an inspiring way of greeting, wouldn't you say Itachi?" Itachi's eyes were closed, before revealing the sharingan.

"A classic attempt of splitting us up; we shall indulge them." Kisame smirked even more, before both went to separate directions. There were six of them and two Akatsuki. The math indicated that each Akatsuki member would be facing three enemies. That at least was Kisame's prediction. When he turned to face his three opponents, the shark shinobi was surprised to see five enemies, instead of three.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

Just as Itachi landed in another clearing, he had to block a barrage of shuriken that were too precisely aimed for comfort. Only one with a dojutsu would be able to throw a projectile with this level of accuracy. When Itachi landed on the ground, though, he saw that his three opponents were actually reduced to one as Uzumaki Naruto appeared. Naruto was fixed in a kenjutsu stance, holding the sword handle, without taking it off for the moment.

"I see that you're alone, Naruto-kun. Certainly Kakashi-sempai's trust in your abilities is overrated." Itachi could see that Naruto wasn't prone to mind games at least he did not appear as such.

"The mission takes precedence. We need to rescue Gaara and you're in the way. It is merely needed of me to hold you down while the rest deals with Kisame. Although, looking at you more closely, there is something different. The sharingan allows me perfect memory as far as chakra is concerned and I don't recall feeling such small chakra capacity from you, Itachi. Are you a clone or something?" Itachi looked at Naruto intently, while suppressing a smile. The man was impressed that Naruto took so little time to figure it out. Kisame would suffer the same fate, since there was a byakugan user as well, facing him.

"Very impressive…indeed this body doesn't possess my full capacity. But then again, my mission isn't to capture you, but merely to delay. However, looking at you now, I feel compelled to test your strength, Naruto-kun. Now prepare yourself." Itachi's sharingan flared instantly, casting a disorientation genjutsu on Naruto, who broke the illusion in less than two seconds. Itachi was right next to him, with a kunai aimed at Naruto's stomach. The projectile was however blocked by Naruto's sword. "Most impressive indeed, although I was expecting your reaction time to be faster." Naruto said nothing in response, focusing on the battle. Itachi's legs were suddenly held by two hands that came from the ground, before one of Naruto's clones came from behind him with the rasengan.

Itachi's body was replaced by crows, representing another genjutsu to which Naruto quickly broke free, before seeing Itachi a few meters away.

"You haven't used your Mangenkyou thus far, so it means that you're restricted to a normal sharingan." Naruto said, before going through hand seals, before gathering air inside his lungs.

_Katon Shiroi Hidan (Fire Release: White Fire Projectile Technique)_

Itachi had to briefly cover his eyes when Naruto unleashed his technique. Even if he had managed to copy it, Itachi doubted it would be easy to recreate. The amount of chakra necessary for such technique was too much for comfort. The rogue Uchiha dodged the beam with effort, before running straight towards Naruto. The chunnin was still busy using the technique, allowing Itachi to get up close and use taijutsu. Naruto wasn't about to lose face here and extinguished the white flames immediately, just as Itachi made his move, positioning his body inside Naruto's guard for a secured strike. When Itachi's feet met Naruto's arm, he was surprised to see some sort of stone armor stopping his feet. Naruto smiled and even placed a quick genjutsu on Itachi. The real Uchiha noticed the technique and silently applauded Naruto for his skill in genjutsu as well. He wasn't aware that Naruto knew this one.

Itachi broke the illusion, before Naruto could pierce his stomach with the sword. He created a safe distance with the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki.

"I must say you've surprised me Naruto-kun so far. I do get the feeling you're holding back on me as well, which is even more interesting." Naruto nodded in appreciation.

"Coming from you that means a lot, seriously. I do have an injured shinobi to rescue, so I'll need to finish this sooner. Perhaps we can finish this fight another time."

Naruto quickly followed with a new series of hand seals, before placing both hands on the ground.

_Yoton Kanseitaiga (Magma Release: Lava River Trap Technique)_

Itachi's sharingan told him a ninjutsu was being formed, but so far nothing occurred that would trigger his danger alert. Itachi looked in alarm when a sudden wave of hot magma roared behind him, quickly enveloping him before Itachi had the time to do anything. It really wasn't necessary, though, as his job was done here. He quickly released his technique, before leaving the man's body to be burned alive by Naruto's technique. The scream that reached Naruto's ears had nothing to do with Itachi's voice. This was the scene that everyone saw upon arriving. Kisame was clearly playing with everyone, before he was trapped by Izumo's suiton technique and Genma's binding seal. Kakashi appeared behind the shark like shinobi and pierced his heart with his Raikiri. Kisame's shocked expression was replaced by a confident smirk, before a different man appeared where Kisame was.

Kakashi appeared by Naruto's side as the river of magma was doing its job of burning whoever he was.

Instead of a different corpse, all everyone could see was a burned body, threatening to become nothing but ash. Naruto's yoton ninjutsu was indeed a feared ability to face.

"Just like Kisame, Itachi was controlling another body as well. I've never heard of this ability." Naruto nodded, acknowledging the theory as he observed with the sharingan. He then looked at the rest of the team and saw that Kisame did quite a number on them if the bruises were any indication. Kakashi saw this and sighed in worry at their odds of rescuing Gaara with such low contingent. "Kisame's Samehada did quite a number on Izumo and Kotetsu. We cannot rely on them for whatever it is we'll be facing inside that cave. Kasumi said that there are two more members inside, probably the same that captured Gaara."

"We can't ask for backup from Konoha?" Kakashi thought about it and nodded.

"I'm afraid it's the best we can do for now, yes. Genma can communicate with Tsunade much faster than I can. Send word for backup. Izumo and Kotetsu, you two will remain here and regroup with the backup team." Everyone nodded at their orders, before Genma used the communication seal on his wrist to send the message to the Hokage. He then nodded to Kakashi. With two members down, the four Konoha shinobi rushed to the caves hoping beyond hope that they still had time to rescue the Ichibi Jinchuuriki.

* * *

**Author Note**

Okay, I'll stop right here for now.

Next chapter I'll be finishing the Gaara retrieval arc, with a couple of twists obviously. For those who are a little bit lost here, you'll do well to remember that the Suna-sound invasion was different. Instead of Naruto, it was Jiraiya who was able to defeat Gaara and his siblings. Because of this, the story was reshaped a little bit. Naruto and Gaara do not share anything together, aside from the fact that both are demon jailers. I also used this chapter to explain exactly how Naruto was able to use magma release ninjutsu, even though he didn't possess the bloodline. Please tell me everything. I wish to know your thoughts about the chapter.

See ya.


	18. Overcoming impossible odds

**Author Note**

Hi there and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes.

Yes, I know it's been too long since last chapter, but like I said, life is complicated for me right now with a lot of work and personal decisions that certainly will force me to divulge more attention to. Fear not, however, as I'll always find time, even if short, to write fan fiction. But I digress…this story happens to be my favorite to write, since I finished the Path of the Hunter-nin. Both characters (Hunter-nin Naruto and Sharingan Naruto) are, in my opinion, what the main character of story based on shinobi should be – strong, hardworking and fixed on achieving his goals, no matter how much pain he has to endure to get there. Before the time skip, Naruto was already strong for his age, but he was nowhere near strong enough even to defeat a high-level chunnin.

Right now, he may be at the same level as Kakashi without the Mangenkyou Sharingan.

Now as we move on to the top scale fights, we can see just how skilled Naruto actually became with the advanced use of his sharingan and his newly achieved bloodline affinity (granted by Kyuubi). I'd like to spend some time right now and answer some of the reviews, at least those with actual questions to answer to. Oh and just for the record, I've already figured out how to get Naruto the Mangenkyou Sharingan. However, don't expect me to simply divulge the information so soon.

_Please Read my stuff – Yes, the magma release was given to Naruto by the Kyuubi, so it's implanted in his DNA. He will be able to pass it on. I'm not saying about Itachi's eyes, because this specific part is still due to occur in the story. Itachi is still very much alive and will eventually fight Naruto seriously, but not right now._

_Lightning King – I'd put him close to Kakashi's level by now, because of the sharingan and lava release. He will not be S-ranked just yet. He may possess S-ranked ninjutsu to use, but his level isn't anywhere near the sannin or a kage level shinobi. As for his techniques, he'll be using a lot of them in this chapter and in the next fights. Naruto is a ninjutsu specialist above all, even if he can use genjutsu, taijutsu and kenjutsu as well. Thanks for the review._

_Shootingcuz – No, I'm afraid not. He would need an affinity for wind for that to work and even so, he wouldn't be able to mix the three elements together. Remember that the lava release was Kyuubi's doing, not Naruto's. Naruto may have trained his affinities hard, but it was Kyuubi who gave him the edge needed to unite the affinities into yoton. Not to mention that it would simply overpower Naruto, making him too powerful. I don't like that to be honest. _

_Adrian11 – I get what you're saying and I agree. Naruto has three different branch of elemental ninjutsu to use and that makes him unpredictable in a fight. I'll try and focus more on him using fire and earth techniques, rather than simply focus on magma. I remembered wondering the same thing about Haku. He had water and wind affinities, but he only used one or two water techniques, before focusing only on his hyoton ability. It was sad actually. Thanks for the tip._

_Firetemplar415 – Indeed, Naruto's relationship had progressed throughout the time skip. I can consider doing some flashbacks, sure. However, it won't be long. This story is more action oriented. _

_Hellfire44 – Well, I couldn't picture Gaara's death as enough, sorry. He could have been Naruto's friend and fellow jinchuuriki, but their bond wouldn't be big enough for the MS. _

_Velial13 – You're a genius. Yes, he surely can have the Rinnegan, but that would have to wait because Madara only achieved the rinnegan after he had the Eternal Mangenkyou Sharingan. I don't see Naruto jumping from the MS to the Rinnegan, right from the start. It's something to think about. Thanks a lot. As to the sealing, however, I don't particularly fancy him learning the art of fuuinjutsu. He is a ninjutsu specialist above all. _

_Ok that's about it. Let's begin, shall we?_

* * *

_**Chapter 18 – Overcoming impossible odds**_

_**Beta: Kyuubi123**_

* * *

No sooner had they left Izumo and Kotetsu alone to recuperate and wait for the backup, then the squad arrived in front of the cave that Gaara was being held by Akatsuki, at least according to Kasumi. The gigantic seal imprinted on the rock in front of them made everyone frown, since time was of the essence. The more they wasted removing rocks, the less time they had to rescue Gaara. Genma was busy inspecting the seal in front of him and searching through his vast knowledge of fuuinjutsu. Naruto knew his captain enough to know that the man wouldn't take long to come up with a suitable answer to remove this damn seal and allow them to enter the cave.

"Genma-taichou…?" Naruto asked only to hear a sigh in dismay from Genma.

"Gofuu Kekkai (Five seal barrier). It's really a pain in the ass type of fuuinjutsu." Genma turned to both Naruto and Kasumi. "Naruto use your sharingan on the seal and please tell me what you see." Naruto nodded and activated his doujutsu. He saw five chakra lines emerging from the seal. "I bet you can see five lines coming out from the seal and going towards random locations, correct?" Naruto nodded at Genma's question, before he turned to Kasumi who nodded. The sharingan could follow the chakra residue, but was not able to follow it all the way to the source. After Naruto pointed the direction, Kasumi used her eyes and followed the direction until she could see the seals just like Genma suggested. "I can break the seal, but I'll take a while. I will need to match my chakra with the seal so that I can affect all five of them at the exact same time." The group nodded and waited as Genma went to work.

Kakashi watched the man work with a nostalgic feeling as he remembered his old sensei doing exactly the same thing. As Minato's only living pupil, Kakashi received training from the Yondaime Hokage in practically everything shinobi related. The only shinobi art Kakashi could never quite understand, or at least not as far as being considered a prodigy in the field, was fuuinjutsu. Genma, however, picked up on the art like a fish to water and it caught Minato's attention up to the point that he became a member of the Yondaime's guards, composed of three shinobi to whom Minato bestowed the knowledge of his strongest and most feared technique, the Hiraishin no Jutsu.

When Genma opened his eyes, he then went through a long series of hand seals, before a new seal appeared on the palm of his right hand. He jumped towards the main seal and smashed his right hand.

_Fuuin Kaihou (Seal Release)_

The main seal on the rock glowed red for a couple seconds, before it vanished from the paper. Genma jumped just as the paper fell off the rock. Genma looked to Naruto with a silent order, earning a nod from Naruto. All the team needed now was something that would pack a punch to move the gigantic rock. And Genma knew that there was no technique in anyone's arsenal that could pack a stronger punch than one that Naruto managed to improve upon throughout the last three years.

_Oodama Rasengan (Big ball Spiral Sphere)_

Naruto quickly formed the Rasengan in his hand, while using a clone to pump in more fuel, thus doubling the Yondaime's technique in size. Kasumi had to stop using her byakugan, because the amount of energy generated by Naruto's newly improved Rasengan was too much for her bloodline. He slammed the technique on the rock, shaking the entire hill where the cave was located. The rock was cracked to pieces in mere seconds. When they entered, everyone was surprised at the scene before him. Like Kasumi described, Gaara was in the middle of the room surrounded by a dark purple energy barrier. They could see a red substance coming out of his mouth and heading towards the strange looking statue behind them where all the Akatsuki members were there.

"Well, it appears that the seal didn't hold them like we thought it would." Kisame smirked. "However, the procedure is nearly complete."

Naruto's sharingan could see that too much chakra was leaving Gaara's body and could only theorize that Akatsuki would not only take the demon away, but also the jinchuuriki's life as well. A kage bunshin suddenly appeared next to the real Naruto and charged towards Gaara with the intent of taking him away from the field. The clone quickly jumped inside the field and body slammed Gaara, forcing him out before his entire chakra supply left his body. Another clone soon appeared and took Gaara back to the group. As soon as the procedure was over, only the real members remained as the rest were mere projections. Deidara and Sasori soon jumped to face the Konoha squad.

"Sasori-danna, it seems we have another jinchuuriki to play with us." Kakashi narrowed his eyes cursing the fact that Naruto was included in the bingo book.

"Just don't take too long this time. You know how much I hate waiting." Deidara snorted at his partner, before falling into a battle stance. Kakashi was immediately on edge and quickly made a plan. His team had the numerical advantage, but their adversaries were both S-ranked criminals. Deidara was a member of Iwagakure's Special Blast Corps and Sasori of the Red Sand was skilled in the art of puppetry, very deadly and also very subtle in the art of killing, as according to rumors, the man's poison expertise was unmatched. It would only take a small scratch to kill someone in mere seconds. Just the thought alone sent a chill up his spine.

"Genma, you and Naruto can take on Sasori while Kasumi and I will deal with Deidara." Genma looked at Kakashi for a couple of seconds, but nodded. In his right mind, Sasori was the worst enemy here.

"Let's stop the chit chat. Here is a sample of my art, hm." Deidara stopped their conversation by quickly throwing what appeared to be small spider made out of clay. The Konoha team jumped away immediately just as the spiders exploded. From the smoke, Deidara emerged laughing like a hyena while flying on top of a giant bird made out of clay. He quickly went towards the clone that was protecting the unconscious Gaara. The clone wasn't fast enough to evade another spider and was dispelled immediately. Deidara captured Gaara and escaped through the cave entrance. Kakashi and Kasumi cursed the mad bomber, before beginning pursuit. Naruto looked at their fleeing backs and cursed his inattentiveness. Immediately, the memory of the genin his team failed to save sprang to mind, angering him. Genma realized the sudden spike in Naruto's chakra and narrowed his eyes.

"Naruto, do not fret about Gaara. Kakashi-sempai will surely get him back." Taking a deep breath to calm down, Naruto nodded to his captain as he faced Sasori of the Red Sand.

"When I looked at Gaara, his chakra was almost entirely gone, Genma-taichou. I fear that if we take too long, he will die." Genma nodded, since he knew from experience the consequences of extracting the bijuu.

"The sooner we deal with this guy, the sooner we can aid sempai and Kasumi." Naruto would have nodded, had Sasori not taken the opportunity of distraction and fired an infinite amount of senbon. Genma and Naruto managed to evade the senbon rain, though Naruto was almost grazed by one of the projectiles. Genma quickly grabbed one of the senbon on the ground and smelled the toxin with a frown on his face. He gave the signal for Naruto who went through hand seals. The chunnin wasn't fast enough or at least not confident enough that his speed would be enough to save himself from the senbon onslaught. Naruto just couldn't allow Sasori to draw the first blood. Quickly molding earth chakra, Sasori and Genma watched as Naruto's limbs was enveloped by rock. However, unlike before when Naruto would harden his limbs, this time the technique enveloped his entire body, until he changed his appearance completely.

_Doton Ishi Yoroi (Earth Release: Stone Armor Technique)_

Where once stood Naruto, now stood a modified shinobi, completely enveloped by his earth technique. Even Naruto's head was covered, save for the sharingan that looked at Sasori. This specific form reduced his agility, but it protected his entire body from Sasori's senbon. Quickly drawing both his swords, Naruto charged at Sasori, who once more unleashed his senbon rain. The senbon were all blocked by either Naruto's fast sword play or his earth defense. As soon as he was inches away from the puppet user, Naruto managed to dodge a sudden tail that erupted from Sasori's back, before enforcing both swords with chakra. He slashed twice, first aiming the metal tail and then, Sasori himself. The tail was gone, but the second slash hit nothing but air as Sasori managed to evade being sliced in half. His focus was on Naruto, allowing Genma to move behind Sasori and quickly covered Sasori's body with explosive tags, before using his speed to get away.

Naruto's sharingan saw a blur coming out of the puppet, before the explosive tags were off, sending shards of wood everywhere.

The sharingan user released his use on the technique and saved some chakra for the ongoing fight. He had a feeling that Sasori had a lot of hidden weapons to use. He saw the man who got out of the puppet and was surprised to see that for someone who was born a long time ago, at the last great shinobi war, he looked barely above twenty. Also, there was something very wrong about the man's chakra flow. At first sight, using Naruto's sharingan, he couldn't detect anything unusual. Looking further, he could see with some surprise that Sasori's entire chakra network was originating from his heart.

"Sharingan, huh." Sasori's voice also had startled Naruto and Genma as it didn't belong to a man as old as the sannin. "Throughout the years, I have fought many Uchiha and none of them came close to hurting me. What makes you think a brat like you could amount to anything? You may have destroyed Hiruko, but I guarantee you both that I have barely scratched the surface of what I can do. And to show you just how outmatched you are, let me show you my favorite puppet." Sasori said as a scroll appeared from within his right sleeve. He unrolled it and showed it to both Konoha shinobi. All they could see, however, was the symbol representing the number 3, before a puff of smoke erupted from the seal.

When the smoke cleared, Naruto narrowed his eyes at the new opponent, but Genma opened his mouth in shock, dropping his senbon. It just couldn't be…

Naruto turned to see Genma's astonished face and wondered what passed in his captain's mind right now.

"Taichou, what is it?" Genma turned briefly to his subordinate. Naruto wouldn't know about it, as he perhaps wasn't even born yet.

"That puppet over there matches the description of the Sandaime Kazekage." Naruto looked at him incredulously while Sasori smirked upon sensing apprehension in Genma's voice. "You wouldn't know of this Naruto, because it happened even before the reign of the Yondaime Kazekage. When the last great shinobi war broke out, Konoha had received word that the Sandaime Kazekage had simply disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Suna's Anbu tried searching for the man, but to no avail. It seemed that the answer to the mystery had just appeared in front of us." Genma then turned to Sasori who was now showing a vicious smile on his face. "It was you who killed him then; I presume and managed to transform him into a puppet somehow." Sasori nodded and got into position with the Sandaime Kazekage's puppet hanging over his shoulder.

"Naruto, this fight just escalated from bad to worse. Sandaime Kazekage was considered the most gifted Kage in Hidden Sand's history with his ability of using magnet release in conjunction with sand. I don't know if the puppet is able to use it as well, so be on your guard." Naruto nodded and looked at the puppet directly. Like all the other puppets before, this one was linked by the chakra threads that came out of Sasori's fingers. This way, Naruto could at least use his sharingan to anticipate the movements and plan accordingly. He wouldn't put it past him that Sasori had coated all of his weapons with the same level of toxin. He needed to tread his actions carefully. He saw the briefest movements in Sasori's hand before the Kazekage puppet came flying at him in top speed. However, with the sharingan activated, Naruto could adapt much faster. The sharingan user was surprised when a strange looking weapon full of small blades and wooden contraption appeared from within the Kazekage's sleeve and attacked him. The blond quickly grabbed both his swords and blocked it, much to Genma's relief.

The senbon chewing shinobi didn't know if he would be agile enough to stop that attack.

Sasori kept on attacking Naruto using the strange weapon, forcing Naruto on the defensive. Genma would bid his time, since he knew how Naruto worked. He instead kept observing both the puppet and the puppeteer to see any pattern he could exploit. Like he expected, Sasori was paying close attention to him as well as Naruto. Genma knew that if he attacked right now, Sasori will simply turn the puppet to him instead of Naruto but Genma didn't have the sharingan to anticipate the attacks. Naruto managed to block the attacks by enforcing his swords with earth chakra. His chakra enforced metals had more endurance then the weapon inside the puppet. When it became clear that the puppet's weapon was destroyed, the Kazekage used another weapon that came out of the Kazekage's other arm. A wooden contraption came out and Naruto could see two seals attached to it. He narrowed his eyes as suddenly a great load of puppet material came out of the seal and charged at Naruto moving like a snake stalking its prey. The blond waited until the attack came at him and slightly evaded before going through hand seals.

_Katon Dai Housenka no Jutsu (Fire Release Great Mythical Fire Phoenix Technique)_

From Naruto's mouth came six medium sized fireballs, three aiming for Sasori and the rest at the puppet. Being an S-ranked shinobi, Sasori managed to evade the fireballs while at the same time maneuvering his puppet out of the way as well. However, while he managed to evade the fireballs, Sasori wasn't able to keep his focus on his other opponent, allowing Genma to throw a great number of explosive tag kunai at the Sandaime Kazekage, taking advantage of the distraction Naruto provided with his strategy. Sasori spotted the explosive projectiles and maneuvered his puppet out of the way of impact, forcing Genma to activate the seals early. The damage done to the puppet wasn't as extensive. Genma used his speed to attack Sasori, who just stood there with a smirk on his face, while slightly adjusting his fingers. As the Kazekage appeared from behind the Konoha jounin, Naruto managed to lift a hill of earth, stopping the assault. Genma didn't even look back as he summoned a much larger kunai to attack Sasori. The puppet user quickly replaced himself with one of the spare puppet parts sprawled on the field.

Both Naruto and Genma stood at attention when the puppet opened his mouth. From within, much to Genma's fear, black sand emerged, before hovering around the puppet.

"I have to concede that you two fought well so far for a couple of brats. However, no one can withstand the Kazekage's Satetsu (Iron Sand)" The dark sand came out of the puppet's mouth slowly, while Naruto and Genma stared at it apprehensively. Never before had either one faced a Kage before, even if it was just a puppet and not the original. Naruto went through hand seals immediately as he couldn't allow Sasori to finish whatever move he was planning.

_Katon Karyuu Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Projectile Technique)_

Genma had to shield his eyes from the bright white fire that erupted from Naruto's mouth, while at the same startled by the sudden action from his subordinate. The fire blast hit the puppet full on, though, rasing black smoke everywhere. When Naruto ended the fire blast, both he and Genma looked on in surprise as the puppet had formed a barrier using the black sand. That attack was used by the Sandaime Hokage and yet it proved useless against the black sand. Sasori just maintained his usual condescending smile at the opposition's attempts. He moved his chakra threads a bit, controlling the puppet's techniques. The black sand gathered once more and formed large structures, able to squash and pierce anything without any resistance. Above the puppet stood two 3D figures, a pyramid and a pillar of black sand. With a slight twitch of his fingers, the structures flew with great speed and great threat at Naruto, who couldn't help but dodge constantly.

So far all of Sasori's weapons were laced with poison, so presuming this one to be so as well was the best course of action.

Because of the sharingan, Naruto was able to dodge the structures and even move into attack position, but he couldn't make two steps before having to retreat. Sasori obviously had great expertise with the Kazekage's ability and could adapt it to keep Naruto away from him. Genma even attempted to attack Sasori, but was met with the same pillar trying to squash him into the ground. Seriously, what he was thinking, trying to sneak behind an S-ranked shinobi? However, something needed to be done here as it seemed that the black sand could withstand Naruto's fire techniques. Genma watched the enemy's movements with focus as Sasori's hands were the key into understanding the pattern. While Genma was busy with his analysis, Naruto was already feeling angry for being cornered like this. He couldn't do anything but dodge the damn structures from fear of either getting killed or getting poisoned, which was actually the same thing, in the end.

He needed to find some way to reduce the structure's free mobility. As he dashed away from the attacks, Naruto frowned realizing that perhaps the only method he had was to literally reshape the landscape a bit. With the thought in mind, Naruto stopped dodging the pillar and smashed it with the rasengan. The black sand was immediately sprawled, disengaging the structure, leaving enough time for Naruto to perform hand seals while heading towards the ground. He placed both hands on the ground. He actually only attempted the smaller version of the technique as he molded a huge amount of chakra, the likes of which only he was able to, without simply succumbing to chakra exhaustion.

_Doton Baisuu Hashira (Earth Release: Multiple Earth Pillars Technique)_

Everything happened in mere seconds as Sasori looked at his black sand being disintegrated. When the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki landed on the ground, all around the cave, multiple pillars lifted from the ground and from the walls and ceiling. Genma looked at the new scenery before him and smiled at Naruto's ingenuity. He mentally applauded the method in which Naruto managed to stop the Kazekage's technique from working. Because of the new scenery, Sasori just couldn't manipulate the black sand structures as freely as he used to, thus reducing the threat level and allowing them to sneak behind Sasori's back. Just by looking at the enemy, Genma could see that the man was annoyed. Naruto had that effect on the enemy. Not only did he have the sharingan, but he also had enough energy to last longer than most in the field. Others would handle their chakra carefully so as to use it when the time comes. Naruto doesn't have this restriction.

Although by the look on Naruto's face, Genma could see that the technique had taken a lot out of him.

"You two flies are beginning to annoy me. This nuisance is taking longer than necessary. Let's end this."

Sasori made a few movements with his hands before the black sand structures vanished. The black sand now hovered up above the cave ceiling, spreading throughout the landscape like a spider web. Both Genma and Naruto looked up in shock as the black sands turned into black spikes all of them pointed in their direction. There was simply no way of escaping. Sasori made the technique reach the entire cave. The man in question smirked at their predicament. He was already counting Naruto as a future puppet because of the sharingan and his impressive ninjutsu repertoire. He flicked his middle finger slightly and allowed the rain to drop on them. Naruto took his swords and worked rapidly by blocking all the projectiles. Genma managed to avoid all of his by using his speed. When the rain stopped, Sasori could be seen with the same victorious smile on his face, worrying Genma.

"It looks like even the famous sharingan could not stop the Kazekage's Satetsu Shigure (_Iron Sand Autumnal Showers)" _

Genma looked at the man quizzically, before turning to see Naruto only to gasp at the flesh wound located on his arm. He had no doubt in his mind that the weapon was poisoned as well. Naruto for his turn looked at the wound and snarled mostly at himself for his lack of timing in taking care of all but one of the projectiles. His sharingan spotted it, but his body just could not move in time. He could feel the powerful toxin entering his veins as he struggled to remain standing while the puppet was attacking Genma once more. Naruto could not take the pain and kneeled on the ground, all the while cursing himself for letting Genma fight this guy alone. He needed to do something to get back in the fight, but he was no medic-nin. No one would be there to save him from Sasori's deadly poison. It suddenly became a fact for the chunnin that in that minute he became useless and a hindrance. It was a feeling he did not wish to feel. Naruto just could not stand not being able to do anything about it.

"_**Hmm, once more you make a fool of yourself Naruto. You have only yourself to blame for being in this situation in the first place." **__Naruto flinched at the jab. His body was aching one hundred percent, but the comment hurt even more. _

"_Damn it, I know this already. You don't have to remind me." Naruto ignored the humorous laughter coming from the fox inside of him. Of course, the furball would take its time enjoying Naruto's misery. "Can't you do anything to rid the poison?"_

"_**I most certainly could, yes. However, I often find myself wondering whether doing so would teach you not to face something you are not ready for yet. Like always, you presume yourself able to perform things out of your reach of capabilities. Nevertheless, as I know what you are going to say before you even think about it, we have a binding contract with one another and through this agreement of ours, it was established that I would offer my aid to you when the situation arises. Sadly so, this situation had arrived and I am compelled to attend to my container's wishes." **__Naruto simply grunted in pain, but nodded in appreciation. He actually only wanted to hear either a 'yes' or a 'no'. Sometimes, he wondered if the fox just took forever to explain something just so that Naruto would listen to it longer. _

As he felt the fox's chakra running through his veins and ridding him of the poison, Naruto ignored the stinging feeling that perhaps his wonderings held truth. The Kyuubi let out one of his irritating and presumptuous laughs once more.

When he opened his eyes once more, Naruto saw that the puppet was coming right at him while positioning for strike against Genma. Naruto relaxed knowing his captain was ok. This puppet sure as hell gave them a hard enough time. Naruto believed that the puppet had overstayed its welcome. It all happened in less than a second. As soon as the puppet flew on top of his downed body, the chunnin turned his hand and molded the rasengan, before slamming right at the puppet's stomach, shattering Sasori's famous puppet into unrecognizable pieces of wood and clothing. Sasori looked at Naruto perplexed as the kid was poisoned just seconds ago. He shouldn't even be able to move let alone stand up and mold enough chakra for an A-ranked technique. Genma took the brief break and appeared next to Naruto.

"Are you okay Naruto? I thought he had poisoned you?" Naruto nodded while never taking his eyes away from Sasori.

"He did poison me. Kyuubi managed to rid me of it, though. I'm good to go once more."

Genma released a sigh he did not know he was holding. Because of the fight, Genma had forgotten about Naruto's high healing ability, thanks to the fox inside of him.

"Okay, but watch out next time, you hear. You should have used your earth armor technique and block it, instead of using your swords. It was a wrong judgment call that could have got you killed." Naruto knew every word to be the truth.

"You're right Genma-taichou. However, by the time the technique started, I just could not use the technique as I did the first time. It takes time to cover your entire body."

Sasori recovered from his wonderings, as he listened to the fox's name coming out of the jinchuuriki's mouth. Of course, the fox would be able to neutralize his toxin. However, the information did not appease Sasori as much. This fight was dragging on much longer than it needed to and he had lost quite a lot of his favorite puppets thanks to these two. Sasori clenched his teeth hard as he slowly unbuttoned the Akatsuki robe. Genma and Naruto stood at attention as the black robe was thrown on the ground.

"Never before has someone taken me so far as to use myself. You two deserve the credit, congratulations." Both Konoha shinobi took in the man's appearance and gasped. There was no flesh to be seen, but puppet parts as well. They were fighting a puppet this entire time. A puppet that was able to control other puppets. Despite the fight they were on, Genma had to hand it to the guy. Sasori was perhaps the strongest foe he ever had to face in battle. Quickly assessing the situation, Genma had enough chakra to hold his own. Naruto, for his part, saw the seal located on the enemy's heart and frowned.

"So that's why…" Genma turned to Naruto for clarification. "When he first appeared, I could see that all of his chakra coming out of one specific part of his body. It was located just close to the heart region. Can you see the seal there?" Genma turned and nodded.

"So if he is in fact a puppet, then the seal must be the one giving it chakra. I recognize the formula somewhat, but not entirely. I believe we have found our enemy's weak point, Naruto. Focus on that seal." Naruto nodded and got into position. Sasori looked at both of his enemies with detachment as expected from a soulless puppet. Even his appearance now resembled a controlled corpse rather than a normal human being. As Sasori watched his enemies get into position once more, he took one of the three scrolls placed on his back using a single chakra thread. These two were able to defeat his favorite puppet, the Sandaime Kazekage. Sasori just couldn't believe that he would do what he was about to do. With this next technique, he was able to conquer an entire nation. Now, he would be using it to best two simpletons. The S-ranked criminal was truly ashamed of himself right now. But, it won't matter. Soon, these two will perish and Sasori will have plenty of time to forget this troublesome situation.

"Let's not prolong this much further, shall we? This time, neither of you will escape alive."

When the scroll opened up in front of Sasori, all Naruto and Genma could see were black blurs, thousands of them leaving the scroll. It actually took an entire minute for it to end. Naruto and Genma looked up and almost felt like giving up that instant. Droplets of sweat appeared on their cheeks as both trembled slightly at the huge noise caused by kami knew how many puppets now stood against them, all bearing weapons of all kinds, no doubt laced with poison as well. No matter what they did to dismantle Sasori, the puppet user would always appear with something much stronger than the last. It was daunting, to say the least.

Naruto had no other option rather than using his earth armor once more and hope that it together with his swords would be enough against the army of puppets. His concern also lied with Genma, however, as the man just wasn't suited for heavy fighting like he was. Genma was the support type, catching the enemy off guard when the time was right. Now suited with the earth armor, Naruto turned to his captain. Naruto received a nod in return for his silent concern, but the chunnin just couldn't share the same tranquility as his captain. Genma was subtly telling him not to worry about him, so Naruto had no other choice other than comply. Genma for his turn knew he was outmatched here. He would need to get out of the battle zone, so that the enemy focused on Naruto instead.

He would then bid his time and attack Sasori directly.

Naruto even reinforced his armor with enough earth chakra to withstand damage. Sasori smirked at the pathetic endeavor, before opening his right chest. From within, a mass of thin chakra threads appeared, linking one into each of the puppets. It was said that the skills of a puppeteer is measured by the number of puppets one can control at the same time. Sasori could easily be the strongest puppet user of all time. He didn't even bid Naruto goodbye, before the puppets charged at the chunnin, promising nothing but an agonizing death. Naruto dodged the first one and saw in slight alarm when the puppet drove the chakra blade right in Genma's chest. The jounin captain, however, took the precise moment to replace himself with a spare puppet part, vanishing from the area.

With a mental note to get his revenge on the captain for ditching him, Naruto saw the next batch of puppets come at him. His sharingan worked extensively in anticipating the moves. Naruto first used one sword for defense and another for attack, while focusing some of the attacks on his armor. He just couldn't use both swords to block otherwise he wouldn't be able to attack. Naruto's sharingan eyes looked like they were loose from its sockets as they went from right to left almost instantly, allowing the blond to overcome the opposition. He was already feeling the strain in his muscles from the heavy workload and his head was pounding at the excessive information received by the accursed dojutsu. The puppets just wouldn't stop coming and attacking him with everything they got. Nevertheless, it wasn't like he had never trained in such odds before.

He would summon bunshin to attack him in order to train his taijutsu and his battle awareness.

However, this time, the army was fixed on killing him and the puppets would have done so, almost fifty times now, had Naruto not reinforced his armor with earth chakra. He felt the pain of each strike, but he couldn't stop. His body was aching all over the place, both from the strain of his movements and from the attacks coming from all directions. He persevered, though. Right now, the floor became littered with puppet parts sliced by his swords. When approximately forty puppets were gone, Naruto almost dropped to the floor as his body went numb for a second. It was simply too much strain. Sasori just smirked at the valiant effort, before sending in the next batch, with two puppets leading the fray. Naruto's sharingan anticipated where the attacks would be and focused as much earth chakra as he could on his stomach as the giant axe hit it. The strike was so powerful that it broke Naruto's reinforced armor and even sent the chunnin flying. Naruto had recovered senses on his body as he looked at the puppets approaching for the death blow.

He could count the entire army coming at him with its weapons drawn, ready to slice him in multiple pieces. Focusing a large amount of chakra, Naruto went through hand seals as his body performed a low pass, inches from the ground. Quickly, Naruto used the momentum to flip his body so as to fall on his two feet and looked at the puppet army closing in with their weapons. His hands stopped with the bird handsign as he inflated his chest. He had no doubt that his chakra would be nonexistent, after this.

_Katon Gouka Mekkyaku (Fire Release: Great Fire Majestic Removal Technique)_

Naruto exhaled a thin layer of fire right at the puppet leaders, before the fire spread through the entire area engulfing everything in its path. Sasori wasn't able to maneuver the puppets out of the way, since firstly the fire engulfed the entire cave and secondly, he was confident that sending the entire fray in one go would deal with the sharingan brat. The powerful fire technique kept travelling over ground for a large range of burning. Sasori even worried that it would reach him, but it only focused on the puppet army. When the smoke cleared, Sasori snarled in frustration as his entire collection of puppets laid in front of him, or at least the ones who hadn't turned into ash because of the fire. He saw the Kyuubi brat breathing erratically in front of him and could estimate it as the consequence of near chakra exhaustion.

The very reason behind Sasori's choice was so that he wouldn't be affected by human emotions. Emotions did nothing but hinder a shinobi of his true potential, so he transformed himself into the perfect being, setting aside such feelings as it would only hinder him in the long run. Nevertheless, anger and frustration were all he could think of right now. In front of him, lay his life's work, all the hardships he had to endure, all the sacrifices he had to make in order to be where he was right now. Everything that he had built was turned to pieces and ashes by one single individual. Pretty much fifty years of hard work destroyed in mere minutes. Sasori couldn't help it. No matter how much he tried separating himself from emotions, he now realized for the first time, what it was like to feel blinded by anger and frustration.

It was all because of this kid. Killing Naruto was now a matter of life and death, Sasori reasoned. He no longer cared for Akatsuki's goals; he no longer cared that he would kill a jinchuuriki.

As the second scroll from his back vanished as well, Sasori later realized that he was right all along about emotions being a ninja's worst enemy as he felt an attack from behind piercing the seal located on the heart region. His eyes looked down to see that a black senbon had pierced a boulder, laced with chakra. His analytical mind didn't take more than a second to realize that the weapon was coated with wind chakra. He looked backwards to see the other Konoha shinobi standing there looking at him. In his clouded mind, focused on killing Naruto for ruining his life's work, Sasori had forgotten about the other one. The puppet master simply fell on the ground and its parts disengaged from the body, without the piece that sustained it all; Sasori himself. Genma stood close to Sasori as he took the structure that came out of the puppet's body.

It was blue in color and cylinder shaped with the seal in front. The jounin captain just couldn't risk it and sliced the structure in multiple pieces.

He looked up just as four new presences entered the cave and approached the downed Naruto. Genma relaxed as he spotted Izumo and Kotetsu, followed by Hyuuga Neji and Rock Lee. It seemed back up arrived. He landed nearby, surprising the four other Konoha shinobi. Hyuuga Neji was observing Naruto's condition while Kotetsu and Izumo performed some quick first aid treatments. Naruto's body was covered with bruises, but no scratches were visible, other than the first one.

"Hyuuga Neji, isn't it? How is he?" Genma asked, earning a nod from the Hyuuga jounin.

"His chakra capacity is low, but by no means is it empty. It will take a while to replenish it all. His chakra coils are twice as large as ours." Genma nodded. By experience, he estimated that Naruto would wake up soon. The Kyuubi was there to help him after all. "Genma-taichou, can you explain us what happened here? The cave is on the verge of collapsing and I can see what appeared to be Sunagakure's Kugutsu." The captain picked up his favorite senbon as Izumo worked into extinguishing the fire.

"I assume you're already briefed about our mission here." Neji nodded, so Genma continued. "You were right about the Kugutsu, as I and Naruto here faced none other than Akasuna no Sasori." All four were surprised by that fact alone and Genma couldn't help but smile at that. Imagine how shocked they would be at the impossible odds both him and Naruto had faced. Genma took some time reporting the entire fight, including the Sandaime Kazekage and Sasori's other techniques. In the end, he explained how Naruto dealt with the opposition while he finished the opponent, taking advantage of a relapse. Genma couldn't argue how much stronger Naruto became.

After hearing the report, Lee immediately initiated his fire of youth speech, but everyone ignored it. Dealing with a second Gai was simply too much to handle right now.

"What of Kakashi and Kasumi?" Genma asked, earning a solemn nod from Neji. Genma immediately feared the worst.

"Tenten and Gai are with them right now, treating their wounds. Kasumi-sama had received a lot of burnes from the enemy's blast release attacks. They managed to recuperate Gaara's body, but the enemy escaped. From Kakashi-sensei's report, he was able to deal a lot of damage on Deidara, even yanking his only arm somehow. However, the enemy targeted the wounded Kasumi and Kakashi saved her. Deidara took the opportunity and fled. We should go there and rendezvous with them." Genma nodded as Lee volunteered to carry the unconscious Naruto. The adrenaline of the fight was slowly diminishing and Genma's sense of danger tingled at the notion of just defeating an S-ranked opponent, even one as dangerous as Sasori. The senbon chewing shinobi could not wait to get into a bar and have some sake.

* * *

**Author Note**

Well, it's finished. I have to tell you; describing this fight took a lot out of me. I had to go back and watch the anime once more, so that I wouldn't miss anything. I also had trouble adapting the fight, since in this one; Naruto didn't have Sakura's strength to destroy the puppets. For those who remembered that Sasori had two other abilities before using himself as a puppet, I had opted to jump that part. If, for instance, Sakura didn't need Chiyo to watch her back, then the old puppet user could have attacked the man as well. I did the same thing with Genma and took his knowledge of seals into account.

Please tell me what you think.

See ya.


End file.
